Monkey See, Monkey Help

I read an article in the May edition of Reader's Digest that really moved and amazed me. It was about an organization called Helping Hands Monkeys, that provides monkey helpers for the diabled. Yes, monkeys. Specifically, they train Capuchin monkeys to do all sorts of tasks around the house that a disabled person wouldn't be able to do alone. This allows those who are physically handicapped to still maintain a great deal of independence and dignity. This was moving in itself, but what really tugged at my heartstrings was the way those who have received these monkeys share about how deeply attached they become to their monkeys. One of them said "It's somewhere between having a daughter and a friend, and a pet and a personal care attendant all wrapped in one."

Reader's Digest told the story of a man who had been in a car accident and become totally paralyzed from the neck down. The only thing he could move was a couple of fingers to operate his wheelchair. After his fiancee and her son left him, he spiraled into a dark depression. But then along came Minnie, a 20-year-old Capuchin monkey helper. She not only enabled him to live independently, but she brought him joy and the affection he so desperately needed. He says that Minnie saved his life.

At Helping Hands, they specifically breed these monkeys and give them very intense training to become helper monkeys. For the first five years of their lives, they live with a nondisabled foster family just to become socialized and have a fun and healthy childhood. Then they spend 2 years in Monkey College where they learn how to do a host of amazing things. They are trained to respond to laser pointers and about 30 verbal commands. When a monkey graduates from Monkey College at the age of 7, it can switch on/off the lights, open a bottle and put a straw in it, operate a microwave and serve food, clean up trash, switch on a TV or computer, select a CD or DVD and operate the player, turn the pages of a book, brush hair, open and close drawers, turn a faucet on/off, open the refrigerator, open a jar and pour out its contents, and take care of their own bathing and grooming. Amazing!!!! These monkey can live to be 40, so that gives them a solid 30 years of being able to be helpers.

Capuchin monkeys are specifically well-suited for this job because of their strong and nimble hands/arms that allow them to do intricate work with their fingers and lift over half their bodyweight (a mere 4-5 pounds). The Reader's Digest story told how Minnie's owner could use his laser pointer to select a movie, and she would get it and put it in the DVD player. Then he could say "popcorn" and she would go to the pantry, get out popcorn, put it in the microwave, pop it, take it out of the microwave, take it to her owner, open the bag, make sure it wasn't too hot, and then feed it to him (helping herself to some of it too!). I'm just blown away.

So now that I've inspired you for the day, I'll leave you with this bit of trivia. Capuchin monkeys get their name from an order of monks of the Catholic Church called Capuchin Friars, because the markings in the monkeys' fur resembles the traditional look of one of these friars. This is also where the drink cappucino got its name. I learned that from Trivial Pursuit. :)

100% Money-Back Guaranteed Funk Repellent

I haven't blogged in a week because I've been in a serious funk. I had no idea what was wrong with me or why, but I just lost my motivation. I stopped sleeping at night, had bad dreams, developed a twitch in my left eye, and my diet went out the window. I just couldn't summon the energy to care about eating right anymore. For those of you who know me, you recognize that this is serious. I was cranky and irritable. Poor Justin didn't know what to do with me. I didn't know where it was coming from or why, but I figured it would eventually pass and I just had to be strong and wait it out. But duh, Joni. You carry around in your purse a 100% money-back guaranteed funk repellent. If this can't banish the funk you've been in, nothing can. But this can. It's the Word of God.

Today, after talking about it with some friends, I realized the source of the problem. It's stress, and the root of that stress is fear. We are about to make a big change in our lives, and I have been telling the truth when I say I'm excited about it and looking forward to it. I am. I believe this is exactly what God has for us, and I believe He has great things in store for us through this adventure. However, I'm scared to death. When I went to Africa, I failed miserably at what I went to do because I could never completely let go of my inhibitions to embrace the people and the culture. I learned the language quickly and easily, but as far as suspending my judgments and being humble enough to really express love to the people in the way THEY could understand, I had zip, zilch, nada. Language hero, missionary zero. So this bad experience on my record is really affecting the way I'm looking at this upcoming trip. I recognize the mistakes I made in Africa, and I feel like I'll be able to learn from them to do a whole lot better in Moldova. Having a husband there who understands the culture better and can help keep me accountable will help a lot too. So I know it'll be good and fine and wonderful.

However, the enemy doesn't want me to enjoy this or to trust God to make this a wonderful experience and bring good from the bad experience in Africa. He wants me to be afraid and stressed out. I realized today that I've been letting the enemy have his way with me - I've been succumbing to his whims without even a fight. Well, I'm on to you, O wily one. From now on, you won't get me without a fight.

On my lunchbreak today (which is when I usually have my quiet times and read the Bible), I just laid all this before the Lord, confessing that it never even occured to me in the past week of suffering to just turn to Him with it. I think maybe that's one way the devil gets us with his attacks - he makes us think we should just handle it on our own instead of going to God with it. But I can't handle it on my own, and the twitch in my eye proves that trying is more than I can take. As I prayed and the Holy Spirit brought all these truths to my attention, it was seriously like an 18-wheeler was lifted from my chest. I just wanted to sing!!! I'm not a lunatic or bipolar... It was the devil attacking me with fear and throwing my past failures back at me. Well, Mr. Crafty, the Lord has redeemed my past mistakes and promises nothing but good things and hope in my future. (See Jeremiah 29:11 & Romans 8:28 if you want proof.)

To top it all off, the Lord just confirmed all this in the passage I read today in my normal reading through the Bible: Isaiah 12.

1You will say in that day:"I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me.

2"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation."

3With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4And you will say in that day: "Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.

5"Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth. 6Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel."

As I read those words out loud to the Lord, I could barely continue speaking for my tears of joy. He Himself is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation. He has turned His anger away from me to give me comfort. I will shout and sing for joy, for great is the Holy One of Israel and He is here in our midst!

I Know Where I'm Going...

...Moldova! Many of you may have already read about this on my husbands blog (here and here), and if you haven't you'll want to check out what he has to say about it. He tells all about the job he's taking and the specifics of our journey, so I'll just give my own perspective and more about what I'll be doing! We are SO EXCITED to finally have a plan and a goal to work toward, at least some direction for this next step in our lives. My sweet husband has accepted an internship in Moldova that uses his degree and is pretty much EXACTLY what he's always wanted to do. So we're really excited to be able to get a taste of what it's like to work in Justin's field and to maybe get a vision for where he would like to head on a more permanent basis.

So what the heck is Moldova? many of you may be asking. It's a former Soviet country in Eastern Europe, sandwiched between Romania and the Ukraine.

We'll be living in the capital city of Chisinau (pronounced ki-shi-nev). On this map it's that little red dot under the second O in Moldova. Read more about the country on its Wikipedia page.

When are you going? I just this very day submitted my notice at work. My last day will be Friday, July 6th. We'll take the weekend to pack up and then on Monday, July 9th, we'll drive all our stuff to Kentucky, where Justin's parents have graciously agreed to store it for us. We actually plan on selling most of our hodge-podge of hand-me-down and Goodwill furniture, and then we'll just start over when we settle someplace after this stint in Moldova. We'll spend about 3 weeks in Kentucky and Ohio visiting family and raising funds. (Make sure to read Justin's blog about our fundraising! We need your prayers and your financial support if you're able!) Then our departure date for Moldova will be around August 1st. We plan to stay 5 months so we can be home in time for Christmas with our families.

So what will you be doing while Justin is interning? That's an excellent question! I'm so glad you asked! If you have any suggestions, I'm open! No, really. I hope to be able to get a job to earn some money and get me out of the house. I have some experience teaching English as a Second Language, so I may try to do something like that, but I'm totally open. I haven't really even started research on that. But now that we have specific plans and dates, I can start the search. Please pray that I listen to God's leading on what He would have me do and that He brings the right opportunity quickly.

How are you feeling about all this? Many of you know that I had an incredibly difficult 2-year mission experience in West Africa in 2002-2004. That has been a huge growth point in my life, and God has worked wonders in me over that experience. I haven't been overseas since then, so I am a little nervous about how I'll do in this new place. I am, however, supernaturally calm and confident about this, which I recognize as the Holy Spirit telling me that this is what He has for us. I am just excited about the opportunity and really thrilled at my husband being able to seize this chance to get a feel for how his passions for Christ, economics, business, and development could all fit together. So we are thrilled at this chance, and as you read in my blog just a couple weeks ago, I feel like this is the perfect time in our lives for such an adventure.

So are you just going to fall off the face of the planet for 5 months? Not at all! Moldova has really good communications infrastructure, so our internet access will be great. I'll be able to email, and I plan on doing a monthly email newsletter. (Let me know if you want to be on the list!) I also plan on using a blog (I haven't decided yet if I'll use this one or start another just for that venture) to keep everyone updated even more often with pictures and stories of what our life is like there. So by the end of our stint there, you'll know way more than you ever wanted to about Moldova and about me... :) Pray for us!

SCAMBUSTERS!

I had an adventure at work on Wednesday with my friend and coworker, Lindsay, and I've just been too busy to be able to get on here and tell the story. But now I've got a leisurely Sunday afternoon ahead of me, so sit back and enjoy my tale...

The church Lindsay and I work at is a rather large church that will often offer assistance to those who call in and need help with their rent or electric bill or food. Tracy is the secretary who handles those calls. So on Wednesday morning, Tracy got a call from a woman named Sally*. Sally had run into a bit of hard luck and needed help with her rent, and the church offered to pay a portion of it. When they do this, they make out a check to the person's landlord so we know the money is actually going toward rent. Usually the landlord is an institution like Blair's Cove Apartments, but occasionally it's just the name of a person. In Sally's case, the landlord's name was Linda*. I don't know what exactly transpired on the phone, but Tracy seemed uneasy about making the check to Linda, like maybe Sally wasn't being truthful and was trying to cheat the church out of money. So she told Sally that when she came in to pick up the check, she would have to bring photo ID proving that she really was Sally.

Tracy, however, had to take her child to a doctor's appointment that afternoon and just left the check with me, making sure to emphasize that I shouldn't give it to Sally unless she offered photo ID that she really was who she said she was. I was a little nervous about being given that task, but I agreed to do it since I'd heard Tracy on the phone with Sally emphasizing to her the importance of bringing ID with her. I figured surely she'd bring it and everything would be fine.

In our office, Tracy handles the requests for money and Lindsay handles the requests for food. So since she understands dealing with people who are asking for something, I went back to her desk and confided with her the story so far and asked for her to maybe offer me some moral support when Sally came to get her check. She said she would gladly deal with Sally and to just call her when she came. But the afternoon passed and Sally didn't show up, so I had kind of just put it out of my mind.

Finally, at 4:00 p.m., a woman walks in and introduces herself as Sally, asking for her check. I say, "No problem, I just need to see your photo ID." She gives me a deer-in-the-headlights look and starts digging through her purse, talking about how she's sure she didn't have any with her, she must've lost it, etc. She showed me a car insurance card and a credit card receipt with her name on it, but nothing with a photo. So I explained to her that I'm not the one in charge of handling this, I was just instructed to only give this check to Sally if she had some photo ID. So she starts getting teary-eyed, telling me about her hard luck, being fired from her job, boyfriend walked out and left her, she's going to get evicted... She carried on like this for 5 full minutes. So I told her that I would call Tracy and see what she told me to do, but I really didn't expect that I could give it to her. So I go to a different room to call Tracy, but she's got her phone turned off. So then I buzzed Lindsay at her desk and asked her for some backup, and she (like the wonderful friend and superwoman that she is) said "I'll be right there!"

So Lindsay comes up to the front and talks to the woman, telling her the same thing I did. We're not the ones in charge of this, and we were told specifically not to give the check to someone without photo ID. So after about 10 more minutes of listening to her sob story, Sally seems to realize that we're really not going to give her the check, and she says "Well, I may have an old driver's license in the car, but it's expired so I figured it wouldn't work." We assured her that would be fine, and please go get it. So she goes out to look for it in the car, and she's gone for at least 10 minutes.

While she's out at her car, Lindsay took the phone number she had given us that was supposed to be her landlord's number, and she tried to call it. She said an answering machine picked up but there was nothing identifying who it was, so it could've been anybody's phone number.

Then Sally came back in with her photo ID, and so I looked at it. I looked at the photo, yes indeed it was her. But then I looked at the name and realized... She is not Sally, she's Linda! She had us make a check out to her, all the while claiming that she was somebody else and that her own name was "her landlord!" I said, "Well, Linda, I'm sorry but we were told that Sally would be picking up this check, and I won't be giving it to anybody but her." She got this look on her face like BUSTED! and scrambled to grab her stuff while saying "Um, I'll have Sally call you," while she fled out the door.

So although it was a grand, exciting adventure and I'm proud of Lindsay and I for being discerning and watching out for the church's interests, I'm still sad that there are people who go to such lengths to take advantage of the goodwill of a church! When Tracy came back in the next day and we told her our story, she said she gets that kind of thing all the time, and it's getting harder and harder to figure out who is actually needing help and who's just running a scam. That makes me both sad and angry. So in the meantime, Lindsay and I will take seriously our charge of being SCAMBUSTERS, and making sure that the church is really helping those who actually need it!

*Names have been changed to protect those who may or may not be innocent.

The Only Explanation Is...

... that it's a bloomin' miracle. With our plans up in the air for what comes next, we decided it would be best to be prepared for any eventuality. I've done an extensive bit of overseas traveling, and so all of my passport pages were full of stamps. Plus, I wanted to go ahead and get a new one with my married name in it. (I had sent in the old one to have it amended, but they didn't put in extra pages like I requested, so it still wasn't useable.) So in case we do end up going overseas, I got my new pictures and filled out the application and mailed it in with my check on Thursday, May 17th.

The website said that a standard processing takes 6 weeks (and I sure as heck wasn't going to pay the extra $60 to expedite it!), which means that I should expect it back around June 21st. This was cutting it close, since we'll probably be leaving in the first part of July. (Justin's last day of class is July 2.) But I just prayed over it as I sent it that God would bring it back in time for whenever we might need it.

However, I kept hearing horror stories of people that couldn't go on mission trips because they'd sent in their application over 3 months ago and it still hadn't come back yet... And even the passport website said that in busy times it may take up to 10 weeks to get a passport back... But I just kept praying, believing that God could easily get my passport through the governmental red tape in plenty of time for whatever He has for us.

So then Justin checked the mail on Saturday and said "Honey, you got this official letter... What is it?" Yes, it was my new passport. Received on Saturday, May 26th. NINE DAYS after I'd sent it. I'm getting goosebumps even now as I type. There is no explanation for that except that it's an outright miracle. Some people wait 3-4 months and mine comes back in 9 days?! They must've processed it the same day they received it! That's faster than even the 2 weeks that is promised to those who pay to expedite it! So God answers prayer and He wanted me to have that passport in plenty of time for wherever He's sending us. I'm ready - let's go!

Bring On the Adventure!

About 6 months ago, a good friend of mine wrote a post (Read it here.) about how she felt like all her friends were having babies and that stressed her out because she didn't know if she was ready to be a member of the Baby Club yet. But would all her friendships change if they were mommies and she wasn't? She drew it to a conclusion that God's timing is perfect and He would be in control of her future and theirs.

Well, now SHE is expecting a baby too (Congratulations, Ryan and Corrie!), and I'm starting to feel the way she did - all my friends are joining the Mommy Club! A couple in our LifeGroup at church just had a baby 3 weeks ago, my dear friend Kristy is 6 months along, and I have SEVERAL other friends and acquaintances who are expecting! However, I think that this has had the opposite effect on me that it did on Corrie. I'm thrilled for all my friends who are taking the plunge into parenthood, but I'm feeling less desire to even dip in a toe than I think I ever have before (much to the delight and relief of my husband, I'm sure).

Here's the deal. Becoming a parent just REALLY changes your life. It's a huge blessing and I'm sure highly rewarding. But I LIKE my life now. I LIKE my husband and enjoy all the freedom we have to do whatever we want. Now that he's finishing up school, I love the fact that the opportunities before us are completely limitless! If we want to pack up everything and flit off to a foreign country for 6 months, we can! If we want to live in a tent on the Serengeti plains, we can! If we want to climb Mount Everest, we can! If we want to move to San Francisco and become hippies, we can! If we had a baby, I'm pretty sure none of these things would even be a blip on the radar. (Not that any of them are necessarily a blip on our radar anyways, but we COULD do them if we wanted to!)

So this is not at all to say that I don't ever want to have kids. I most definitely look forward to the marvelous ministry of motherhood, which I think is one of the highest callings on earth. However, I've recovered from the Baby Fever that I caught around Christmas after spending time with my precious nephews. I'm just going to be patient about it and enjoy this time in our lives that we'll never be able to return to once that first baby comes along. Maybe in a year or 2 we'll be ready. But in the meantime, bring on the adventure, bring on the opportunity! I'm going to savor and relish this freedom while we've got it, and thank God for this season in our lives until it's HIS time for us to move on to the next one!!!

What Makes a Hero?

I'm sure most of you have heard the story of Wesley Autrey. In January, he was waiting on a subway platform with his 2 young daughters in New York City, when a young man near him began having a seizure and fell on the tracks. While another onlooker held back his children, Autrey jumped down and tried to get the young man off the tracks as the headlights of an oncoming train approached. Upon realizing that he wouldn't be able to remove him in time, Autrey covered the young man's body with his own and restrained him from being injured by the train. Two cars passed over the men before the driver was able to stop the train, but thankfully they were able to emerge uninjured. This amazing story has caused Autrey to be called the "Subway Superman," "The Hero of Harlem," and the "Subway Hero." He received New York City's highest honor - the Bronze Medallion, made an appearance on the Letterman show, and was even invited to attend the 2007 State of the Union Address. (Read more about him at Wikipedia.) This is a true story of bravery and heroism in the midst of a culture that is renowned for its indifference and apathy, and I applaud him. (Read some of my husband's thoughts about the phenomenon of choosing to help others.)

However, last night he made an appearance as a contestant on Deal or No Deal, and I am extremely disappointed with his performance on that show. They dedicated the whole show to heroes in his honor and they had guest appearances by Medal of Honor recipients and even a dog who had saved someone's life. He came on saying that he wanted to make enough money to buy a house to build a better life for his family. Good, great, very admirable. So then he starts playing the game and he has a terrible couple of first rounds. He knocked out all of the high amounts except the top two in just the first 2 rounds. So we're already on shaky ground. But then he rallies and has a great next couple of rounds, and the offer reaches 6 figures. He says "No Deal," though, and play continues. He miraculously manages to avoid knocking out the million for the next 4 rounds or so, and offers just keep climbing. The highest offer he got was $305,000! I know that New York is an expensive place to live, but surely one could find a pretty nice house for that amount! However, the man just keeps saying "No Deal!" It's like he's not even considering taking the deal - he's going for the million. He never even hesitated to turn down each offer. He said "Well, I took a risk that day on the subway platform, and so I'm taking a risk now." Give me a break. So of course, as inevitably happens on this show, he knocks out the million and goes home with $25. That is so ridiculous I hardly know what to do with myself. He had at leat 4 chances to walk out of there with over $100,000. But he refused each time. Was it pride? Was it overconfidence? Was it his awareness that he's such a popular "hero" that someone will probably give him more money than he'd make on this show anyway? (In fact, they did give him a car to go along with his $25 just because they think he's swell.)

OK. So I realize that it's just a game and that many people before him have played this game like idiots too. But what comes to mind for me is the concept that Peter Parker expressed in Spiderman: "With greater power comes greater responsibility." If you're going to be a hero, a national public figure, touted far and wide as someone we should all be like, please try to actually act like someone deserving of that. Think of what $300,000 could do for your family instead of pridefully pushing on hoping to be the first contestant to ever win $1 million.

So all this to say, I appreciate Mr. Autrey's brave act on the subway platform that day, and he will forever remain the hero of that young man he saved. But he's not my hero. I think he let his family down last night because he was too selfish to do what was best for them. To me, that's not something a hero would do.

Stylin' and Profilin'

I just discovered the fun new templates for my blog now that I've switched over to Google blogger! (Yes, this is the same girl who so staunchly resisted being forced to make the switch now enjoying the perks of having done it... So sue me.) So I'm playing with colors and fonts... I'm worried that I've got the blog text set too small. Does anybody have any opinions about colors/fonts/sizes? Let me know! :)

My Darling Nephews

I just wanted to be the proud aunt and post some more about my sweet nephews.
Azlan is an adorable little cuddlebug! He's quite the chunk - over 21 pounds at 6 months! He's really pleasant most of the time, and it's very easy to make him smile. In the picture above, Grandma is rocking him in a rocking chair at the Children's Museum, and he just LOVED it! Look at that grin! However, when he's unhappy, he lets everybody know about it, and I don't mean maybe. :) He actually cut his first teeth this weekend, and so that explains some of his fussiness. I hope as he grows up he continues to like hugs and kisses as much as he does now!

Patriot is amazing. He's so much fun, and he's SO SMART! I am blown away at how well this kid can talk and how much he understands of what you say to him. He knows everything that's going on. He definitely gets his smarts from his aunt Joni. :) I'm also impressed with how social he is. I guess it comes from his dad being a children's minister, so he spends a lot of time in church functions and childcare. But he's not afraid of people, he's not scared to talk to anybody or play with anybody. My friends Lee and Kristy babysat them during Justin's graduation, and Patriot wasn't at all scared to be left at a stranger's home. We just explained to him we were leaving and that we'd be back later, but in the meantime he'd get to play with the doggie and watch Cars. He was like "Ok." And then when we dropped him off at childcare so we could go to church, he just went right in and played and made new friends. I'm so proud and impressed at what a mature, intelligent, fun kid he is. And he's only 2 1/2!!!! This is an example of the silly faces he and I were making at each other. :)

So I'm very proud of my nephews and I can't wait til next time I see them!

Wonderful Whirlwind Weekend

Oh my, what a weekend it has been! Wonderful and insane all at the same time! To start you out, here's a pic of the crowd that was here. From left to right: Justin's parents (John & JoBeth), my parents (John & Jan - Mom is holding Patriot.), my sis Jessica and her husband Matt (Jess is holding Azlan), and Justin & me.

John & JoBeth arrived Thursday at lunchtime. We drove to Salado and ate at the Stagecoach Inn, a historic restaurant in a neat little Texas town. Then we spent some time browsing the shops before heading back to Waco. My family spent ALL DAY in the car Thursday and arrived in Waco at 1:00 in the morning, after a 21 hour trip! Whoa!

Friday I worked half a day to let my family try to catch up on their sleep. Then for lunch we split up to have Men's and Women's lunches. Justin took the men to some obscure barbecue place, I don't remember the name of it. But they said it was the best barbecue they've ever eaten - good for them. I took the women and children to Amelia's, a little cafe inside a neat antique flea market looking thing. We all ate quiche and fruit salad - a pretty girlie lunch!

Friday evening was Justin's Hooding Ceremony, called so because people receiving Master's Degrees wear hoods with their gowns. Here's a picture of Justin's hood. The colors all have meanings - the green and gold represent his university, and the brown is supposed to represent his field. However, we noticed that his brown was a different color from everybody else's there! Apparently the bookstore gave him the wrong color hood! Oh well, his color looks better than the others did anyway. :)

Saturday morning we went to the Mayborn Children's Museum on Baylor's campus, and it was SO COOL!!! Patriot just LOVED it, and Azlan had fun too! Of course, the big boys in the group managed to have their own fun... :) We spent the evening Saturday just hanging out and playing games.

Sunday for Mother's Day, we all went to our church and then out to lunch at the Elite Circle Grill. It's a neat restaurant that just around the corner from our apartment, but we'd never tried it! It was yummy, and we took the picture at the top of the page there.

My family hit the road after lunch on Sunday, and Justin's left Monday morning. Phew! Fast and fun. Many thanks to everybody for making the trip down - it was WONDERFUL to be able to share this blessed time in our lives with you!

Pathetic

I don't have any idea what happened, but I've suddenly and inexplicably turned into a horrible blogger! I just don't have anything to say! I even now don't have anything to say, but I feel guilty that it's been more than a week since I posted, so here I am typing nonsense. My life the past week has been occupied with 3 things: the end of Justin's semester & finals, thinking about summer plans, and preparing for our families' visit for Justin's Graduation.

THANKFULLY, Justin is now completely done with classes this semester! He is as I type giving his final makeup exams for the class he taught, and then he'll be home free. Now that's dang exciting. It seemed to me that this semester has been the easiest so far for him, both in the classes he took and the class he taught. You can check out his blog for some thoughts about what teaching has meant to him.

As far as our summer plans go, we're still up in the air! All of the internships that Justin originally thought he might get fell through, and so we had resigned to the fact that we'd just stay here for one summer session and he could finish his degree that way. However, then a couple more opportunities came available, and we're still waiting to hear from them. So we still have no idea where we'll be 3 weeks from now! The amazing thing about that, though, is how much peace God has given me. I assure you, it's a complete miracle that I'm not totally freaking out, and that can only be attributed to the power of the Holy Spirit in my life. I'm just excited about what the future may bring and ready to go wherever He may have for us. God is good.

Finally, our families will arrive tomorrow for a whirlwind weekend of fun and festivities. Justin's parents will get here around lunchtime tomorrow, and we plan to take the afternoon and evening to go to Salado with them. Then my parents and my sister & her family will finally drag in around midnight (after driving ALL DAY straight from Ohio!), so I won't be seeing them til Friday. Justin's special hooding ceremony will be Friday evening, and then we'll have all day Saturday just to enjoy each other. My fam will hit the road after lunch on Sunday, and Justin's will leave Monday morning. I am absolutely thrilled about this special time with family - I cannot wait to squeeze my precious nephews! Everything Mom and Jessica tell me about baby Azlan (who is now 6 months old) is that he's just a sweet cuddlebug, so I can't wait to just give him all the cuddling he can take!! And Patriot (2-1/2) is getting so big and talking so much, it'll be so fun to play with him too! So expect some major nephew pics next week after the hulabaloo dies down!!!!

I Scream, You Scream

Well, apparently the warm-weather season has officially begun. I've come to this conclusion based on two events that strangely enough are both this week.

First of all, TCBY yesterday had their Free Quart Day, and Justin and I took advantage of that. For reasons unknown to me, yesterday at TCBY you got a free quart of frozen yogurt with ANY purchase. So I bought a small $2 cup of my healthy no sugar added yogurt, and Justin got a whole quart of Cookies 'N Cream yogurt for free! We don't understand it, but we like it!

The second event will be tomorrow, so it's not too late for any of you to jump on this one! Tomorrow, Baskin Robbins will be having 31-Cent Scoop Night from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. There actually is a cause for this one, and you can read more about it here.

I just thought it was strange that suddenly there's all this free/really cheap ice cream all in one week! So my only conclusion is that this must be the official start of ice cream season!

My New Defining Sense of Self

Do any of you remember this Starbucks scene from "You've Got Mail?" Joe Fox and Kathleen Kelley are both waiting for their coffee, and Joe muses about Starbucks. He says,

"The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don't know what the hell they're doing or who on earth they are can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino."

So yesterday my boss asked me to take his intern to Starbucks for her last meeting of the semester, since he was out of town. Wellllll... It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it. I, of course, don't drink coffee, but I figured since I wasn't paying for it, I might as well try something yummy. And in doing so, I have definitely found my new sense of self.

I am a Grande Sugar Free Nonfat Decaf Cinnamon Dulce Latte.

Introducing...

... Mister Isaiah Big Tuna Ed Fishie! :) This really IS him: No, he's not dead. People ask me that ALL THE TIME when they walk by my desk and see him floating there or laying on the bottom. Betas just do that, ok?!

In case any of you don't watch "The Office," one of the characters on the show calls our favorite character "Big Tuna" because the first day he came to work, he brought a tuna sandwich. So my friend Kristy and I refer to that all the time, and she suggested naming him "Big Tuna." So I incorporated all of the suggestions into one name! I don't know if that will satisfy my sister's need to name something Isaiah... I'm going to call him "Fishie" or "Tuna." Jess, maybe you'll just have to get a dog someday and call him Isaiah...

New Additions!

I wanted to introduce to my blog friends the new additions in my life! First of all, my precious wonderful husband got me a new miniature rose! I don't think I mentioned it here, but some of you may have seen it on Justin's blog - the day after Valentine's Day, I rescued a mini rose from WalMart, but it didn't make it. So I had this dead rose plant outside in a pot, and I just hadn't gotten rid of it yet. But then one day I came home from work and my sweet husband had put a GORGEOUS new mini rose plant in its pot! The colors don't come out in this picture - the new one's blooms are this gorgeous bubble gum pink! I love it! So this pic is of my three little babies. On the left is my first rose that Justin got for me Valentine's Day 2006. We call it our "love plant." (Reference to "How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days" if any of you have seen it.) In the middle is the one that a church member gave me last April because I work there. Then the sweet new baby is on the right. My precious baby roses! These take the place of pets in my life. :)

Then my other new addition is a blue beta fish on my desk at work! Let me tell you the story. I mentioned Richard, our building superintendent at work, in my post about the baby killdeer. So last Friday I was discussing with him how I did go and save that baby bird, and the topic turned to tender hearts toward animals. Then he told me that he and his wife had a pet fish at home, and his wife got tired of taking care of it, so she told him to flush it! This fish had been his pet for more than 2 years, so he couldn't bring himself to do it. So I told him to bring it to work and I'd keep it on my desk. So come Monday, there was a sweet beta fish on my desk! (This picture is not him, but this is what he looks like!) He's way more active than a beta I had before I got married, and he's BIG too! So he's cute and fun, he keeps me company at my desk and we talk. It's good. This sweet fish, however, doesn't have a name! I've been calling him Fishie, and he likes that. But he should still have a proper name! So does anybody have any suggestions?!

So these are the two new loves of my life. Yay!

Another Owee!

But this time, it's not an Ow-Wii! :) Yesterday, it was a gorgeous, sunny day, so I decided to wash my car. I took it to the quarter wash where you put in the quarters and then wash it yourself. There are several cycles you take it through - rinse, soap, brush, power rinse, spot rinse, wax, etc. So I had soaped and brushed the whole thing, then I was using the power rinse to wash it off. I never realized just how hard that spray really is! As I was rinsing, I saw a spot on the car that wasn't rinsing off, so I reached up with my hand to rub it and see if it would come off. In doing so, however, I accidentally sprayed my hand with the power rinse. OH MY GOODNESS!!!!! I cannot describe how much that hurt! I really thought I was bleeding, it felt like a knife cutting through me. It wasn't bleeding, however, just really red, and I completed my car wash. However, as I drove home I looked again at my hand, which was still red and painful, and I saw that it blistered! Yes, the sheer force of the water hit my hand hard enough to make it blister! Justin claims that I just have sensitive skin, but I tell ya, I'm pretty sure anybody would've been injured by that water. So everyone be careful now that it's car washing season! Don't spray yourself or anyone else you like (You can decide for yourself whether or not to spray the people you don't like...) with the power rinse - it may just "power" your skin right off!!! I've got the blister to prove it!

Nerd or Free Spirit?

As I think I've mentioned on here before, Justin and I are going through the Financial Peace study by Dave Ramsey. It is wonderful and life-changing, and I would recommend it to EVERYONE! However, that's not the point of this post. In his lessons, he talks about how there are generally 2 types of people in this world: Nerds and Free Spirits. You almost inevitably have one of each in a marriage relationship. Nerds are the rule-followers, the budget-keepers, the let's-make-a-spreadsheet-to-track-our-progress-ers. Free Spirits are like "Budgets just tie me down," and "Rules were made to be broken." In case any of you don't know, I am UNQUESTIONABLY a VERY LARGE Nerd. Justin is also a Free Spirit, so we keep each other balanced.

However, this Nerd title that I'm claiming doesn't only apply to my financial existence - it applies to all of life. I have a strong sense of justice, a deep feeling for "the way it ought to be." So sometimes it troubles me deeply when things aren't right, and I many times will take action to correct that. I have two examples just from my life this week.

I saw a new product that Nutri-Grain is coming out with to expand their line of breakfast products. It's called a "Muffin Bar." I have a serious problem with this name. The American Heritage Dictionary lists this as the meaning of the word muffin: "A small, cup-shaped quick bread, often sweetened." So, as you can see, by it's very definition, the word muffin refers to its shape - cup-shaped. So if it's a muffin, it can't be a bar. Because bars are shaped like bars and muffins like muffins. So the name "Muffin Bar" is an oxymoron. It simply can't exist. That REALLY gets on my nerves.

Secondly, if you were reading my blog last year at this time, you'll remember that we had a sweet family of birds (killdeer) nesting outside our office and sweet little baby birds running around everywhere. If you missed it, you can read about it here. Well, that sweet family is back, and there are 3 new babies outside our office! This morning I was walking from one building to another, and I noticed that one of the baby killdeer had fallen off the curb into the driveway, and the curb was too tall for it to be able to jump back up! So it was down there chirping away pitifully, and its mama was up in the grass calling it. It was a tragic sight. So I went ahead to the other building and got my work done, and while I was there I ran into our Building Superintendent, Richard. I asked him if he'd seen our little family of birds and he said "Yeah. One of the babies had fallen down into the driveway, and I bet it's gonna get run over by a car or maybe eaten by a hawk. Either way, it's not my problem." I was appalled! I asked if he thought it would be ok for me to try to catch it to put it back in the grass. He said he was sure it would be. So when I had finished my work and was walking back to the office building, I saw that the pathetic situation for the killdeer had not changed. Baby was still in the street, Mama was still squawking. So I gently caught the baby killdeer and put him back in the grass to be reunited with his family. For the rest of the day, I've periodically peeked out the window to make sure he's ok, and they're happy as they can be. Yay for doing what's right!

So I'm definitely a Nerd. At least I'm happy.

Ow-Wii Zow-Wii!!!

In case you can't decipher the title of this post, it's "Owee Zowee" changed to reflect the cause of my pain - the Wii! It was a fantastic and fun time Friday evening with our friends as we played tennis, baseball, golf, bowling, and boxing. I was TERRIBLE at tennis, but I rocked the house at bowling. You create your own little Wii Mii, and it tracks all the games you play so you accumulate points. The higher you go in your ability, the more it challenges you. I'm amazed at the technology where a little receiver attached to the TV can detect my movements and move the Mii on the screen accordingly. The whole system is such a neat concept, and it definitely was a good workout. In fact, my arm is STILL sore from all the work it did on Friday! It wasn't all that bad on Saturday, but Sunday it was REALLY sore! Today it's slowly getting better. But if I owned one of these, I'd get buff! :) It's definitely on my "To Own Someday" list - I'd put on my exercise clothes and box a few rounds. Billy Blanks couldn't make a better workout!

Nothing Normal About This!

This is the view from my front door. And yes, that's SNOW falling from the sky. In Texas. In April. What the heck?!?!?! Two days ago it was 85 degrees and sunny! And now it's snowing. Now that is ridiculous. Good thing I said I wasn't going to leave the house today! :)

Return to Normal Life?

Well, after a tragic and dramatic week related to Kentucky basketball, it looks like the suspense and drama may soon be over. There is a press conference scheduled for this afternoon to announce their new basketball coach, which ESPN says is going to be Billy Gillispie, the current coach at Texas A&M. So now our Wildcat lives may return to normal, and the upheaval may just be beginning for our dear Aggie friends, Corrie and Ryan. Corrie, call me if you need some support - I've been through it this week! :)

On an entirely different note, tonight we're going to over our friends Lee & Kristy's house to play their new Nintendo Wii. This is the game system where you actually get off your duff and move the controller as if you were playing the game in real life. I think it'll be great for Americans who are just sitting on their couches playing video games and getting fatter and fatter. Kristy says you can work up a sweat playing this thing! So I'm excited to try it out for myself and maybe get some exercise in the process. I'll let you know how it goes!

And finally, I'm looking forward to a weekend to relax! Last weekend was bizarrely busy for me, and the past couple weeks have been kind of high stress with basketball stuff, apartment trauma (Read about it on Justin's blog if you missed it.), Easter being a busy time at work, workplace drama, etc. So I'm planning on just staying home Saturday and getting a little R&R. I need it!!!

We're Official Now

Yep, we're official Texans now...

... We got our picture made in a field of bluebonnets!

For those of you don't live in Texas, bluebonnets are the Texas state flower, and they're adorable. Contrary to public opinion, it's not actually illegal to cut or pick them (except on the side of the highway because that's officially government property). However, most fields and roadsides are allowed to grow unchecked this time of year because nobody wants to cut the bluebonnets! So at this time of year, you'll find fields and fields of bluebonnets, and it's a Texas tradition to take your family out once a year and get their picture taken! So yesterday we met up with some friends and took each others' pictures in a gorgeous field of bluebonnets. Yay for Texas!

The Battle of Self

I'm going through a struggle in my life, and I wanted to post some current thoughts on it and see if anybody else had any thoughts/comments/suggestions about it. It's the battle with self. In the first sentence I almost wrote "going through a struggle right now," but I think that would imply that the battle is going to end soon, and I don't think it will end, ever. That does not, however, mean that it's something I can or should give up on or stop fighting.

Here's what I'm seeing about myself this week: I am just entirely wrapped up in myself. This is just the way of human nature, and I believe that it's something that only by God's power we can escape from. But He still calls us to greater heights, lovingly molding us to better reflect His character and His image, and He demands that we shake off the selfishness that comes so naturally and instead view the world through His eyes. Oh, what blessing I believe will come when I get there! But it's still a long way off right now.

Let me give you a clearer example of what I'm talking about by telling you about the specific circumstance that got me thinking about this. I believe that Christians are called to love others and treat them with respect, regardless of who they are or how much you disagree with them. I also believe that a Christian wife should submit and show honor and respect to her husband regardless of whether or not she agrees with him all the time. I know the Scriptures supporting this view, and I'll argue for it all day long. However, when you look at my life, you'll see that I don't act that way, and I especially do not treat my husband with the respect he deserves. This isn't an intentional inconsistency, it's something I do without being aware of it. If I'm upset or frustrated about something, I'll speak to my husband in a rude or disrespectful tone when he is entirely undeserving of such treatment. But here's what really gets me: Even if he DID do something wrong that would make him "deserve" my anger, I would STILL have no right Scripturally to treat him rudely. My words should be gentle and loving at all times, NO MATTER WHAT! Christ lovingly forgave those who crucified Him and mocked His pain. So what right do I have to mistreat my precious, wonderful husband who is so good to me?! None at all.

The problem is, as I mentioned before, I'm just not aware of what I'm doing. I'm so wrapped up in my own frustration and feelings, that I don't even think about the way I'm acting and how it might be hurting someone around me. So besides prayer, reading the Word, and asking God to work a miracle in my character, does anybody else have any tips for me? How can I get out of my own little world and really think about others? How can I stop myself from speaking harshly to my husband (or to anyone, for that matter)? I want my character and my behavior to honor the Christ who loved me and gave Himself up for me, and I want to be the Proverbs 31 kind of wife who "brings [her husband] good and not harm all the days of her life."

Is There No Escape From Basketball?!

...Sadly enough, no. You have to read about it even on my blog. But it'll be a short post! I just wanted to put out a few basketball thoughts from this past week.

1. My worst bracket in a long time. I've made a bracket for March Madness every year since I've been in college, and I usually have eerily good picks. This year, however, it's looking REALLY bad. Only one of my picks for the Final Four actually made it there. I can't help but wonder if it has to do with the fact that previously, I would always just randomly pick a team to win. But now I've been living with a basketball fanatic for 1 1/2 years now, and so I'm picking up more knowledge of the game and teams, and so maybe I was trying to pick based on some actual knowledge instead of just randomness. Next year, I think I'll go back to randomness.

2. Sad for the Big XII. As mentioned above, three of my four Final Four picks didn't make it there. Sadly enough, those three were all from the Big XII - Texas, Texas A&M, and Kansas. What's up with the pitiful Big XII disappointing me?!

3. I don't want anybody but Donovan! As most of you will already have heard elsewhere, Kentucky's basketball coach for the past 10 years, Tubby Smith, resigned last week to take the head coaching position at Minnesota. So, UK is on a massive coach hunt, and Billy Donovan, the coach of the Florida Gators, appeared to be the frontrunner. However, they can't approach him while he's still coaching, and his team is looking good to win the tournament again this year. I got excited at the prospect of getting Donovan for our coach - I think it would be AWESOME and really good for Kentucky basketball. Yesterday, though, the Athletics Director at Florida gave an interview saying that he really didn't think Donovan would take the KY job, and that if it came down to money, Florida would be willing to match whatever Kentucky offered him. So now it's not looking like we'll get Donovan after all, and I'll be so disappointed! I don't want anybody else! So Billy, just come on to Kentucky. What else could you possibly achieve at Florida? We've got all the resources you could ask for... so just come to Kentucky, ok?

Ok, don't freak out. No pressure. Just make the right choice. You could get some more REALLY cool ties with UK colors...

Ok, I'll stop talking about basketball now. Thanks for your patience!

His Perfect Peace

As most of you know, this is Justin's last semester of class, and he will graduate in August after a summer internship. So we're on the cusp of a big change, and we're close to defining what direction our lives will be headed. So this is a big time in our lives, and at the moment filled with uncertainty. He has applied all over the place for his summer internship, and now we're just waiting to hear back. The waiting is so hard! I'm the kind that wants to be able to know what's coming and have my plan all set for it, and so as May approaches and we still don't know where we're going or what we're doing, that could potentially cause me a lot of anxiety. However, God keeps bringing this verse to my mind:

"You keep him in perfect peace

whose mind is stayed on You,

because he trusts in You.

Trust in the Lord forever,

for the Lord God is an everlasting rock."

~ Isaiah 26:3-4

This is clearly a good verse for my situation, but it's also really hard. At the times when I'm feeling anxious, I'm clearly not keeping my mind stayed on God, or else He would be keeping me in perfect peace. So how do I really trust in the Lord? There's a difference between being forced to wait because nobody's getting back to us, and choosing to trust in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. So what's the difference and how do I move from the former to the latter? Well, thankfully, God led me to a verse that very clearly illustrates how to do this. It's a familiar one, but it takes new meaning for me now that I really need it:

"Do not be anxious about anything,

but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving

let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God,

which surpasses all understanding,

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

~ Philippians 4:6-7

So God gives us step-by-step instructions on how to trust Him.
1. Recognize that you're anxious over your situation and recognize that your state of mind is not the most God-honoring.
2. Pray and ask God for the solution to your problem.
3. Don't forget the thanksgiving! Thank God for all of the blessings He's given you, and take time to remember His promises. That will put your situation in the proper perspective, and it will bring you the peace that God promises.

So I'm not saying that I'm really good at this, and I certainly wouldn't classify my current state of mind as "perfect peace." This isn't just a one-time deal either. You keep praying and praising as often as anxiety comes your way - it may be once a day, or even once an hour! But I'm thankful for God's Word that teaches me how to live for Him, and I want to honor Him by not worrying about what is to come. He knows where we will be, and He will reveal that in His own perfect timing. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Random Notes of Interest (at least to me...)

1. Who says God doesn't care about the small stuff? OK, so this is totally a little thing, but it sure blessed me this morning. I was running late in getting ready for work, as usual. I was supposed to leave in 5 minutes, and I still had to get dressed and do my hair and makeup! As low maintenance as I am, it still takes me longer than that. So as I was getting dressed, I prayed, "Lord, please let my hair go up right the first time and look even halfway decent." I hadn't dried my hair after showering the night before, so those are the days my hair has to go up instead of trying to do something with the bedhead that results. The way I planned to do my hair today usually looks cute after two or three tries, but very rarely does it work the first time I try to do it. However, I said that prayer and then went in to do my hair. And I tell you what, it practically fixed itself - totally cute the first time! So praise the Lord that He hears our prayers, even when they're over something silly like our hair. :) P.S. I was still late to work, but not AS late as I would've been if I had to do my hair 3 times!

2. Oh, the Madness! In case any of you live under rocks, you may not have noticed that this time of year is the March Madness, The Big Dance, the NCAA College Basketball Tournament, the pinnacle of the year for my Justin. And it really is a madness. I posted extensively about this last year. What's really funny is that this year, I feel more caught up in the madness myself. I still don't really have an interest in watching ALL of the games the way Justin does. I mean, who can really watch 16 games in 2 days and REMEMBER everything that happened in each of them? My husband does. However, I made my little bracket again this year, and it's not doing all that badly. Texas losing hurt me deep, but I think I can still recover. My championship game is Florida vs. A&M. Go Aggies! (Now, I don't want this to be misleading. I picked the Gators to win it all. However, I'd be thrilled down to my toes if the Aggies could pull it out.) So I figure that since there's no way to avoid the madness, I might as well jump in and catch some of it myself. Here's to basketball.

3. Happy Birthday to My Blog! I was bored at work (Who'd have thought that?) the other day and looked back through my archives. I realized that it was March of 2006 that I started blogging! So happy birthday to my blog! I LOVE blogging, and it has been so wonderful to be able to use this as a tool to keep in touch with friends and family who don't live nearby (and even those who do!). One benefit I hadn't anticipated when I started blogging was how well it would chronicle my life even for my own memory. I went back and read all my posts, and it was so much fun taking that walk down memory lane and reading all the things that were on my mind in the past year. Totally fun. So I look forward to my blog being that for me in the future - a way to remember the joys and sorrows of my journey and to share it with my loved ones.

Me as an M & M

This week, I've been having a great time on WeeWorld.com, thanks to my friend Kristy. We're now Wee friends, which is nice being friends in the real world AND in the Wee world. If you'd like to make a WeeMee and be friends with my WeeMee, go to Wee World. I'm daisyjo37. However, instead of copying Kristy and posting my WeeMee on my blog, I found another way to make an online version of me at becomeanmm.com. So here is me as an M&M:

Yes, these are the things I do when I'm bored at work. Welcome to my world.

EDIT:
Many apologies to my coworker Lindsay. I was posting this blog right at 5:00 yesterday, so I was in a hurry and I didn't finish the post! Besides wasting time on the internet when I'm bored at work, I spend many hours with my friend Lindsay, and we chat and entertain each other. On Wednesday we were given a project to use cute scrapbooking paper and some die-cut hearts and flowers to decorate giveaway bags for a Women's Conference this weekend. So as we let our creative juices flow in creating beautiful and unique bags, we regaled each other with tales from our childhoods. (You should hear Lindsay's traumatic playground story... It's a doozie. Mine is better, though, because it involves a full body cast. Thankfully it wasn't me in the cast!) I learned that as a child, Lindsay loved to cover her desk with Elmer's Glue or Rubber Cement and then have fun peeling it off. Who didn't like scraping glue off their desk as a kid? I know I did. Note: This is not as pleasant when you run into someone's GUM on the underside of the desk! Yuck!

So then Lindsay and I decided to revive this fun childhood pastime by covering various articles on her desk with rubber cement and then peeling it off once it dried.

Staplers, bottles of hand sanitizer, scissors, nothing was safe from our boredom. (Yes, we were REALLY bored.) Then I asked her if she'd ever put it on her hand and then peeled it off. She said of course she had and that was fun. So I proceeded to put a huge dollop on the back of my hand and waited for it to dry. When she looked up and saw me, she said "Oh, I've never put it on the back of my hand, I put it on my palm. Oh well. I'm sure it's fun there too." However, I learned a very important lesson about putting rubber cement on your body to have fun peeling it off. (Can anybody guess where this is going?!)

DO NOT PUT RUBBER CEMENT ON ANY AREA OF YOUR BODY THAT HAS HAIR!!! IT'S GOING TO HURT LIKE THE DICKENS WHEN YOU PEEL IT OFF!!!!!!

Yes, I had a big red raw patch on the back of my hand after painstakingly pulling off the huge patch of rubber cement I had so idiotically put there. So that's my story of what REALLY happens around this office when the bosses are away...

The Greatest Show on Earth

Last night my sweet husband took me to see The Greatest Show on Earth. Yes, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus came to town, and we got to go! As far as I can remember, I've never been to a circus (Mom and Dad, please forgive me if you've taken me and I just don't remember!), so this was a really special treat for me. I was dazzled and amazed by the ridiculous things these people and animals do. I got to see:

A woman juggling horses. No, really. The first act we saw was a woman with six trained white horses. It was neat to see them spinning in unison and following her instructions depending on how she flicked her whip. At one point, she had 3 of them weaving in and out of each other - looked like she was juggling them! Very cool.

An Upside-Down World. This is the act they were promoting in their commercials. This husband and wife duo were somehow suspended by their feet and juggling, drinking water, and dancing - all upside down.

Of course, the trapeze artists and tightrope walkers. I was expecting these ones, but that didn't make them less impressive. I was biting my fingernails, gasping, and covering my eyes just like everybody else. I think the part Justin was most impressed with was when 2 of the tightrope walkers got on bicycles on the tightrope with a bar connecting their shoulders. Then the lady tightrope walker crawled out to the middle of the bar and did a handstand on it. Talk about balance! Cool stuff.

Gail and her Flying Canines. This lady had 2 trained dogs and they had worked out a routine of the dogs jumping high in the air to catch Frisbees. I was just impressed at how well-trained the dogs were. They KNEW that routine and knew what was coming next. Even if they missed a Frisbee, they just went right on and caught the next one. I think that would be a fun life to be a dog trainer.

The Amazing Bulgarians. This group of about 15 people did amazing stunts using a see-saw looking thing to catapult one of them into the air to be caught or land in a certain position. At one point, they were standing on each other's shoulders, FOUR people high, and then the fifth one was catapulted up and landed on top - a stack of people FIVE high! Now that was cool.

And lastly, my favorite was the sweet elephant. They had her all covered in glitter with a silly head-thing on that she had to keep shaking out of her eyes. But she was so well-trained, just like the dogs. The trainer didn't have to give her any instructions, she knew what to do. The trainer just spent most of the time riding on her tusks and climbing around on her. I was most impressed when she got all four feet up on a little stand and then spun around while carrying the trainer in her tusks. Sweet girl. Maybe I could be an elephant trainer instead of a dog trainer... :)

So we had a great time, and I'm very thankful to my sweetie who took me out for a fun night. Happy Spring Break!

Updates

I don't have much new to post, but there are some updates to previous posts, which I thought I'd fill you all in on:


Justin's Mono
My sweetheart is feeling better, but still not good. His pain and swelling are all gone, but he's still just really tired. That is slowly improving, though. At least I can see a difference in the amount of energy he has. So either he really is feeling better, or he's just getting better at pushing through the exhaustion. Please keep praying for him, though! The doctor said it'll be April before he MIGHT even start feeling like himself again. He went back to the doctor today, who told him that he's pretty much guaranteed to have a relapse within the next 18 months, and he may have bouts of it for the rest of his life. Apparently, mono is like malaria - once it's in your system, it never comes out for good. So that's not good news. The good news is that I didn't get it! It's been long enough now that I'm not going to, so I must've already been immune. Praise the Lord for that!


Upstairs Neighbors
We finally had to take some action regarding our upstairs neighbors. They started playing really loud music at 6:15 or 6:30 in the mornings! Loud enough that I could hear the song and sing along even WITH my earplugs in. (They really like Mariah Carey and Beyonce.) Justin tried going upstairs one morning and knocking on the door to ask them to turn it down, but they didn't answer. So I called the apartment management and complained, and they said they'd take care of it. I don't know what they did, but they haven't played any music in the mornings since then. Victory! I was extremely close to taking my Aunt Jayne's advice to start banging on the ceiling, but thankfully I didn't have to resort to that! So they're still incredibly loud up there during waking hours (Maybe they're learning how to Riverdance!), but at least they don't wake me up too early in the morning.


Career Changes for My Parents
Not only do my parents both have new careers - Dad in real estate and Mom in embroidery - but they've both also started working part time at WalMart! It's a brand new store in their area that's opening next week. So right now they're working on stocking all the shelves and getting the store ready to open. Once it opens, Mom will be in the Deli and Dad will be in Electronics. They're hoping to be able to coordinate their hours so they can carpool. This totally cracks me up, but I shouldn't laugh - they get a 10% employee discount off WalMart's already cheap stuff! One of these days I'll write a post with some of their crazy stories of what it's like to work at WalMart. Funny stuff.


Giving Up Sodas
Not much to say in this area, except I haven't had a Diet Coke in 3 weeks! Please PLEASE be very proud of me. I don't really even miss it all that much. Life goes on.


Bored at Work
And lastly, I'm still really bored at work, so I blog. My boss will be out again next week for Spring Break, so it's going to be really ugly around here. There's an online games website, BrainBashers, that I really enjoy going and exercising my brain. My favorites are the puzzle games and word games. Yep, I'm a nerd.

Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, South Africa

I've been wanting to post about this since the special aired on TV on Monday, but this week at work has been crazy and I'm finally getting around to it. I tell you what, I'm not a huge fan of Oprah herself - her show is entertaining, but all the weird spiritual stuff she does is over the top to me. But have you heard about this school she built in South Africa? To me, it seems like a very, very good thing.

It's called the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, South Africa. Here's the website. It seems like Oprah, who has vast financial resources beyond measure, just wanted to give back in a meaningful way, something that would have a huge impact for the better. So she decided to go to Africa and build a school for girls ages 12-18, rescuing them from the deepest poverty and from the bleak future that awaited them. Out of the thousands of applicants, she and her team chose the 150 that had the most potential as far as academics, leadership skills, and personality. These 150 young ladies will live at the school (with running water and everyone has their own bed to sleep in - most of them have never had these luxuries), attend classes, and graduate with a world of resources available to them. (In fact, Oprah promised the entire first graduating class that she would make sure they ALL were able to go to the college of their choice, anywhere in the world. How much money does this woman have?!)

The neatest thing about the TV special was that most of it was just spent meeting the girls - learning their stories, seeing how they've been living and the hard work they're used to. Most of them have been raised by a grandparent because their parents are either dead or can't afford to take care of them. These girls have been through a lot. They are STRONG, and their stories will make you bawl. I was crying as I watched it!

If you missed it the first time, it's coming on again! Tomorrow (Saturday, March 3) on ABC at 7 EST/8 CST. Watch it or TIVO it to watch later. It's definitely worth seeing.

For me, I think it was so meaningful because I've lived in Africa. I've seen the poverty, the lack of education, the lack of opportunity. I know those girls, and I know what their futures look like. I could put names of my girls in Niger to go with all those South African girls you saw on that TV show. And Oprah, to quote what they said on the show, just "drastically altered the course of their future." She may not be the greatest, but she just made a HUGE difference in the life of 150 girls. Even if that's all this school is, it will have been worth it. I believe it will turn into more than that, because these girls are going to change their families, their communities, their nation, maybe even their continent! (One of them insists she's going to be the first woman president of South Africa!) I really hope they let us keep track of these girls, to see how they do and what becomes of them. I do have to say that this is an admirable thing Oprah is doing, she's making a difference the best way she knows how. Do it, girl.

Farewell, My Love

This week, I have made the choice to say goodbye to one of my dearest friends for many, many years. It was just a relationship that was too destructive for me - I was fiercely loyal, but all my friend could give back to me was unhealthy and painful. So, farewell, Diet Coke. We've been close for years, but now we've come to the end of the road.

How did this revolution come about?, you may ask. Well, about 2 weeks ago I started having some acid-related stomach problems. That was really about stress, but I noticed a pattern that my stomach would be upset the days I had caffeine, and it would be fine the days I didn't. It's been more than a week since I had caffeine, and my stomach is doing just fine. I even stopped taking the Zantac that the doctor prescribed "as needed." I don't need it anymore.

Well, why don't you just start drinking caffeine free Diet Coke?, you ask. Believe me, friend, this thought has crossed my mind. However, the evidence has been stacking up against diet drinks in general. Let me give you some reasons:

I was eating lunch with my friend, Kristy, last week, and she told me about her college roommate, who was a Diet Coke addict much like me. This roommate decided to do some looking into the effects of aspartame on a person's body, and she found some really bad stuff. So she decided to give up Diet Coke, and Kristy said that the most remarkable effect of her giving up aspartame was that her memory was markedly improved. If any of you have known me for any length of time, you will know that if anybody needs an improved memory, I DO! So I'm cutting back on aspartame in the hopes that it may help my declining memory.

For those of you who love your diet sodas and don't want to give them up, rest assured, it is still approved by the FDA for consumption by humans. There are just so many stories out there and testimonies of people whose lives were vastly improved by giving up aspartame. I'm trying to be more healthy and eat more natural, so I want to cut back on the consumption of this fake sweetener. (Someday, I'll be like my father-in-law and go all-natural to sweeten everything with honey or pure maple syrup. I'm not there yet...)

Also, there has been quite a bit of research that diet sodas do not in fact help anyone lose weight. This article on WebMD says that for each can of diet soda that a person drinks per day, their risk of obesity goes up by 41%. It is generally a well-known fact that diet sodas don't help you lose weight, but I hadn't realized that they actually make you fatter than if you were just drinking water. Most of you know that I've really been working hard to lose weight, and I've been quite successful even despite the diet sodas. But now I'm giving them up and hoping to boost myself even closer toward my goal.

So maybe you could drink Caffeine Free Diet Coke with Splenda?, some of you are thinking. Well, first of all, I don't think they make such a thing. Second of all, I've decided to just quit cold turkey. I'm done with diet sodas!

I am not, however, completely done with aspartame. I'll get used to life without Diet Coke, and THEN maybe someday I'll try to give up my Crystal Lite. But in the meantime, I'm taking baby steps toward a healthier me.

Congratulations, Dad!

I just wanted to use this public forum to say CONGRATULATIONS to my dad, who is the newest realtor at Star One Realtors! Yesterday he took his exam to become licensed in real estate, and he passed with flying colors - which I hear is a difficult thing to do in Ohio, especially on the first try! So I'm very proud of you, Dad, and can't wait to see you make your first sale!

This is an exciting and interesting time in the lives of my parents, they're venturing off into new territory with new careers on both sides! (If you're interested in custom embroidery, check out my mom and sister's business, Legacy Stitches.) I'm praying for you guys!

Adorable Faces

My sister just sent me some adorable pictures of my sweet nephews, the 2 most precious children on the planet. So I thought I'd post them since she doesn't have a blog of her own on which she can share them with the world. Plus, I don't have anything else to blog about! Enjoy these sweet faces!
This was Azlan's first time in the Exersaucer... I think he liked it!!!Apparently Patriot really likes helping Mommy give Azlan his bath. And Azlan likes watching them in the mirror. Adorable!And finally, Azlan was giving them some big grins when he was sitting in his Bumbo the other night. Look at that chunky monkey!!So these are my sweet sweet nephews - they're coming to visit for Justin's graduation in just a few months!!! Yippee!!!

My Hearos!

As a continuation of the previous post, I wanted to post about my Hearos, which save the day because of the ridiculous loudness emanating from the upstairs apartment. No, I'm not misspelling the word "heroes." Hearos are the brand name of earplugs that I've started using to sleep at night.

We use the blue kind, the "Extreme" Hearos, that block up to 33 decibels!

Now, before I married Justin, I had never used earplugs, never really seen them, and definitely never heard of someone who sleeps with them every night. But Justin is an INCREDIBLY light sleeper, and he wouldn't sleep at all if he didn't use them every night. If we go on a trip somewhere, the 2 things we HAVE to take with us are clean underwear and earplugs - everything else is optional. :) I, on the other hand, have always been a notoriously good sleeper. I can sleep anywhere and not much will wake me. One time I was sleeping at my sister's house, and the dang security alarm went off, and I still didn't wake up! (Admittedly, I was suffering from jet lag at the time, but still!) I sleep in the car, on airplanes, through movies. I love me some sleep. This is why the upstairs neighbors' loudness was so incredibly upsetting to me - they were actually keeping me from falling asleep and then waking me up early! So Justin finally convinced me to try earplugs, and they are like heaven. I just fall asleep and wake up when I need to! (Except this morning, I didn't hear my alarm, that was definitely not a good thing. I still made it to work on time, though.) I laugh in the face of my neighbors' heavy footsteps and early-morning hip-hop music! HA HA HA!

My only fear with getting used to using earplugs, though, is that I may get to the point of not being able to sleep without them! I've always been such a good sleeper that I'd hate to alter that now! The great sleep I'm getting these days is worth it, though, so I'm just going to have to run the risk. In the meantime, I'm very grateful for my Hearos and for my hero, Justin, who gave them to me.

What the Heck Are They DOING Up There?!

A little over a month ago, we had some new neighbors move into the apartment above ours. The first sign of trouble was the fact that the apartment is the same size as ours, but SIX people moved into it: 3 adults and 3 children. The next bad sign was that the two women in the family are on the heavy side, which means they can't help but make some noise when they walk. Now I am by no means trying to criticize them for their weight (I'm the last person that could do that!), but it sure makes it unpleasant to live directly underneath the floor they're walking on. And really the noise they make while walking isn't the worst of it. They're just dang loud people. I've lived in apartments for several years, and I've NEVER experienced anything like this. So you have the heavy walking, plus the shouting, children crying, nailing things into the wall at 11 p.m., loud TV on til after midnight, and hip-hop music blasting at 8 a.m. on Saturday for crying out loud.

But even all this is not what motivated me to write a post about it. The straw that broke the camel's back for me is that every evening after dinner, I have no idea what they're doing up there, but it really sounds like they're rearranging furniture - scrapes, bangs, booms, thumps, and crashes. So the other evening while Justin and I were attempting to watch Wheel of Fortune (We could see it, but we sure couldn't hear it very well!), I was hypothesizing about what they might be doing up there. Here are some of my ideas:

1. They've put in a bowling lane, and they're trying to get the coveted turkey.
2. They got a pet pony, and they're riding him in laps around the living room.
3. Jello wrestling.
4. They want to join the Russian Circus, so they're training a dancing bear.
5. Choreographing a treadmill routine like the OK Go video I posted on here several months ago.
6. Breeding miniature buffalo that have a nightly stampede across the dining room.
7. Experimenting with the explosive properties of household chemicals.
8. Water balloon fights. (That might explain the loud dripping noise whenever they take a shower!)
9. They're training for the Olympic Trampoline event, but the ceiling is too low and they keep crashing to the floor.
10. Half pipe.

Justin says that I'm silly and it's just the sound of the kids playing. But come on! Are kids really that loud?! It's certainly made me aware of how wrong it is to try to live in an apartment with children! I won't be making that mistake, Lord willing. Coming up with silly ideas about what they might be doing, though, makes me laugh and keeps me from being too angry about the noise.

So does anybody else have any ideas about what they might be doing up there?