blog... blog... blog...

Been a while, but here I am

2009-08-18T16:10:00.000-07:00

Many new things in my life: blog, job, school year, that might be all but it seemed like a good reason to begin posting again.

Thanks to Cassie for this awesome new blog design.

Students are starting to come back to campus. I love when campus is full again, it just feels right. I was getting very used to being all by myself in Gardner, but it was time for the dorm to be full again, I guess. Because of the work they did on Gardner over the summer we did not have time to play hide and seek in the dorm before everyone returned, sad day.

Speaking of students and Gardner, I must say my other new thing is my job. As of July 1, I am the Director of Intramural Sports at ACU. I have loved it. It all begins tomorrow with Welcome Week sports.

Alright, I will try not to be such a stranger. Thanks for welcoming me back to the blog world.

A smelly situation

2009-02-10T08:22:00.000-08:00

This needs no words, but on Sunday afternoon an RA walked me up to a bathroom and showed me this:

3 awesome weekends...

2008-11-19T22:53:00.000-08:00

Read all the way through and enjoy some pictures at the end, that is right I am going to post pictures, get excited.
It all started with homecoming weekend. One of my favorites and for the first time since college I was not driving in on Thurs night and spending the night with Hall to attend chapel the next morning I was awaiting company here in Abilene. Katie came in on Thurs and we had a grand ol time catching up and staying up late. Friday my parents arrived and shortly thereafter Erika and Jen showed up, yesss. Ferika and Jen (mija) occupied room 129 in Gardner and it was fabulous. It took us back to dorm life and that was a fun time. We walked the halls together and just reminisced. We woke up and went to the parade, which never lets me down and then on to the football game.
Two weeks later they returned, along with others, for our annual girls weekend. That was an absolute blast. We shopped, ate, sat around a fire, stayed up late, watched sing song videos (do not judge), went to friday chapel, ate some more, went to anson lights (Hess' favorite), dead baby house (always a hit) and ate again. That weekend never fails to be so much fun, I look forward to it and love it. I cannot wait until Nashville '09.
The third and final awesome weekend was Beth and Jarod's wedding weekend. It was a classy event in which I got to see many friends that I have not seen in a while.
Alright, enough talking here are some pics...

The cute couple

me, Spence, Kate, Em

ACU Friends

jealous?

Kate, Em, Kami, me

weird...no clue

Group w/Grandpa

hanging around campfire

Hess pumped about Anson lights

MoMo's reaction to halftime show

Ferika's reaction to halftime show

Group at game

Go Wildcats!!

Ferika...nasty

GATA

sporting the purple except one of us...

We love ACU Wildcats!!!

Fines...

2008-09-30T17:24:00.000-07:00

I went to the library today, that was not a mistake. Here is the deal since I started grad school, I decided to go to the library for an hour a day and just read or do research for papers that will be due. I know over achiever, what can I say. Today when I went, I needed to check out some books. I went up the counter and gave him my name and he said I have a fine. What?!? Seriously? He said yeah, it is from 2004. I said that was my junior year. Wow, I went to the library a hand full of times. One of those times, all of my clothes were stolen out of my closet (Em and Neeners). I never remember checking books out, pretty sure I did not know how to do that anyways.
I guess it has been truth week for me, or I am just growing up. I caught a girl sliding her card in chapel for another girl and straight up took both cards from her and turned them in. Also, residence directors can eat 6 meals a week in the bean, that is right you guys are jealous. We walk up sign a piece of paper, put our banner id on it and what meal we are eating. Well, the paper had a girls name on that is for sure not a director and the lady at the counter asked me if I knew who she was and I said nope, she is not a director. I then asked if she wanted me to write all the res. directors names on the back of the paper so they knew for a fact who we were.
I love national stay at home week b/c my TV shows are all coming back. That makes me very happy.
Gardner you ask: window broken, sneaking out, gold fish in room, furniture moved from east lobby, asthma attack all in a week.
Work is going well. I am enjoying walking around campus and seeing my girls from gardner. It is fun to go to chapel and not have to slide a card, but weird to be there and not see my friends sitting on the floor. Extra weird to eat in the bean and go to the left side and expect to see all my friends eating at "our" table and they are not there. I love sitting in my apartment and hearing the yells on the intramural fields.
Freshmen Follies happened and it was awesome. Since then it has been way cool walking the halls at night b/c more doors are open and more girls are out in the hallways chatting it up and having a good time.

wowzers...

2008-08-23T22:24:00.001-07:00

I now have 300 girls, give or take a few, that live in my mansion. It has been a long week, but a good one. I will say, I have missed watching the olympics. I am obsessed with them, to say the least. We had candle light devo, the gardner meeting (which I spoke for an hour at-I know, shocker), got to see Cassie and Jevy and Kara moving their sisters in, well Kara was moving Zach's sister in, but same thing. That was crazy. The fire alarm went off, boys tried to climb up the escape ladder, curfew violations, calling girls out on their nasty butt shorts and much much more. It was a pretty eventful week and many more to come. It is funny to be on the other side of things, maybe not all the time, well yeah pretty much all the time.
I begin school on Mon, what the crap? You heard it right, I am going back to school per my own decision, never ever thought that would happen. I am getting my masters of higher education because I am really liking this working at a university thing. That sentence sounded intelligent.
I am staying up late again and soon will be back in the books, wait I never was in the books. This time I will be, I promise MoMo. I really feel like I am a freshmen again, it is awesome. It was really funny before the big meeting, the girls did not know who I was and so they would say anything when they would walk by me in the dorm, oh the things I heard. It kind of made me want to go incognito all year long to hear everything, but let's face it I am about to be 26 and so old and mature, it would not have lasted long.
Kristi: I am still reminding myself that I am the adult, I am the adult. Thanks.

A 1 1/2 day trip quickly turned into a 4 day trip...

2008-07-27T20:51:00.000-07:00

My dream is to go to all the baseball stadiums before I die. When I heard Yankee stadium and Shea stadium were getting torn down after the season, I knew I needed to book a trip quickly. So, mom, dad and myself took an unforgettable trip to New York.
It began on Tues, we flew out at 11:15. We had a connection in Atlanta and literally sprinted through the airport and made it to the terminal only to hear you have 1 minute to board the flight to New York. We made it, barely. Then, we get to the hotel only to hear they do not have our reservation and they are over booked. You must be kidding?!?! They found us a room and an upgrade, actually. We made it to the Mets game Tues evening. It was awesome. The fans are the best, they love the game. The chanting never stopped from the first inning to the ninth inning. When the pitcher had thrown 2 strikes and there were 2 outs, every person stood and clapped for the next pitch. They cheered on their team like they were good friends with every player. The next day...Yankee stadium. This is what I had been waiting for, do not get me wrong I love the Mets, I mean my middle name is Shea after the stadium, but the Yankees come on. The game was at 1:10 and we arrived at noon. It was like sitting in history. I just kept thinking how great it was that the babe stood on the same field and hit a home run, Mantle ran the bases there, etc. Again, the fans cheered and were passionate about every call. It was something I will never forget. I cannot even put in words how awesome it was to watch games at those stadiums. We were scheduled to fly out that evening at 7:29 and arrived at the airport around 5:00only to find out that our flight was delayed. After we made it through security we found out that many flights had been cancelled and ours was delayed some more. At 1:30 in the morning our flight was cancelled. We had to then go back downstairs and stand in the 1 hour line to reschedule. I needed to be at work the next morning at 9 and that was not happening. So, we get to front of the line to find out there are no flights to Atlanta until after 5 the next day. So, we do it. Then, we find out the first available from ATL to DFW is at 8am the next morning. Joy to the world. At this moment every rental is taken and every hotel/motel is taken from NY to New Jersey. Crazy. You know what happened then, find as comfortable of a spot you can in the airport and try to sleep. haha, yeah right. Mom and I noticed them handing blankets out about 3, so we went over to get one and the man said, "you must be sitting down to get a blanket." What??!!!! You have to be kidding, are we in first grade? So, we ran in front of him and sat down and he handed us one when he got to us. Awesome. After a thirty minute nap, civilians began making their way in the airport to catch there flights out the next morning. Cool, just imagine over 100 people with huge sky blue blankets all bundled up in various parts of the airport and men and women coming in with suits and nice clothing on. We truly felt homeless. It was great. We met a ton of people and had a blast. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 6:00 that evening. Well, we needed to get out of the airport and heard of a bus that you can ride for 2 dollars to manhattan and it brings you back to the airport, sweet. We get exact change for our joy ride and go outside with backpacks and homeless blankets and wait for the bus. We get on and ride it to manhattan and when it stops there the driver says ok, that is the end everyone off. Wait a minute, they said it takes us back to the airport. The driver says it was no joy bus and we have to get off. So nice. We get off and walk through manhattan with blankets and backpacks. I was sure someone was going to hand us change or something. We ate lunch and caught another bus back to the airport, it only made our day better. We get back and realize our flight was delayed again. Now it is going to leave at 7 instead of 6. Alright, our flight shows up around 8, everyone gets off and we all stand there for 30 minutes. A man then comes out and says one of the crew members just checked out, so we have to wait on another flight and it will land around 9:30. We finally board our plane to ATL at 10:30. Then, spent the night in ATL and headed to DFW the next morning at 8am. Man, it was a long trip and two nights in the airport later we finally got home. I will say, if you are still reading, I would not trade it for the world. Baseball is truly an american tradition in New York.

A Walk Down Memory Lane...

2008-07-11T18:13:00.000-07:00

I had to check every room in my gardner mansion today. Top to bottom and everything in between, I had to physically look at each and every bed and see which ones needed to be replaced. It was actually fun. I had yet to visit my old room and today was the big day. It was so much fun walking the halls again and remembering the good times. As I was on the third floor, about to walk into what was Mo and Cheryl's old room, I was remembering my nightly walks up there and was stopped dead in my tracks when I thought about it being 7 years ago. What?!? It was so great vividly remembering things that happened and who lived where. It makes me so very excited for when the freshmen move in and begin to make friends for life.

I'm A Big Kid Now...

2008-06-20T14:48:00.000-07:00

I am a terrible blogger, but thanks to those reading this who stuck it out and continue to check in, having faith that I would return.
Recently I moved in to Gardner Dorm, no not a freshman again, as the director. What?!?! That is right, believe it. It has been about 2 weeks. Loved the coaching and teaching thing, but have moved on. I have a two bedroom apartment that sits near the west lobby. It is actually an entire hallway, so I call it my single wide. The guest bedroom, if you want to call it that doubles as my laundry room, well triples as the workout room as well. I love my place, it is my own. I am absolutely pumped for the freshmen class to move in, I cannot wait to meet them and see who I will share my Gardner mansion with.
On another update two dear friends got married allowing me to spend time with many dear friends. Jen and Hayden finally tied the knot. It was beautiful and perfect. I stayed with Lij and Neen as did Blake and Mo, good times had by all. We went to the rehearsal dinner and when we all saw each other it was as though we had not seen one another in 10 years, oh the screaming-Ros. We had a good time hanging out in Austin. Thanks for getting married Mija and Hayden.
Finally a blog. I will try to keep this updated more. I know you guys want to hear about my summer training here in the dorm.

Bball is over...

2008-02-26T11:04:00.000-08:00

Because of these girls the past two years of my life have been absolutely awesome.
Basketball has come to an end. We almost made the play-offs, but had a tie breaker game and lost in overtime. It was a good run. It took up pretty much all of my time and then some, but it was so worth it. It honestly took me a while to get over it, but I think I am finally over it. We had our season ending party on Sunday night at Chili's. It has been an honor to coach the greatest girls in the history of high school. Sure, they had their ups and downs and drama moments like any high school girl, but overall I could not have hand picked a better group of girls.
I have been the worlds worst blogger lately, but now that basketball is over I can actually have somewhat of a life to write about.

Been a while, so this is random...

2007-12-09T20:05:00.001-08:00

Basketball is in full swing and that is why the posts have not. I am coaching 8th grade, JV and assisting Varsity. I am loving it. The kids are great and I enjoy the bus rides, I know I am weird. We had a tournament this past weekend and we have one this next weekend as well. We are doing very well this year. The girls are so much fun to be around.
Thanks to MoMo I have become absolutely obsessed with making picture collages. I kid you not, when I have a minute to spare which is few and far between I make a picture collage.
I am so thrilled about Christmas. Christmas music and wearing Christmas socks have been on since right after I finished the turkey on Thanksgiving. I am telling you if you have not heard Kelly Clarkson's Oh Holy Night, oh holy cow, you must it is a good one. I love the lights, the smell, the trees, the reindeer. I will put it this way I love everything about this time of year except the bell ringers outside the stores.
So, the past 2 weeks at school we had 6 kids from China come over and check things out. In March 6 of our kids get to go over there, it is some swap students thing that our school was chosen for, pretty cool. Anyway, 2 of the boys were in my pe class and they were awesome. We had an American feast for them one day and gave them brownies and well a bunch of junk food really. They hated the brownies and Dr Pepper, my kind of boys. They were the cutest things ever and said American girls were beautiful and to that I said thank you.
I sat and had many conversations with these two intelligent boys and in one conversation I asked if they believed in God and they both said no. Now fast forward 2 weeks and I am sitting at lunch with some of my basketball girls and the two boys come and sit across from me. One of them, Karl, looked over and said, "can we um um p-r-a-i-r?" I said, "Pray?" He said, "yes yes pray." I went on to ask if he wanted me or him to pray or me to teach him how to pray and he said, "you teach you teach" He repeated after me and then when he was done I told him good job and then he bowed his head and repeated it all over again. It was awesome. There are many stories from the past 2 weeks that is just my all time favorite.
Maybe my next post will be my collages, I have never posted a picture on here and it will ruin my streak, but what the heck. I think people just go to blog sites to see the pictures.

Just Happened...

2007-10-10T11:12:00.000-07:00

Alright, when I sub I usually find a student that enjoys watching TV almost as much as I do. So, I have found one in the class I am currently subbing. We were talking about shows, Brothers and Sisters to be exact, and discussing the happenings thus far in the season. If you do not watch, which you should, there is gay brother on the show. She had a question about the gay brother and from across the room another student yelled out, "my brother is gay". What?!?! The student talking to me froze and awkwardly replied, "I was talking about a show". It was awesome. I am still laughing about it.
On the subbing story note, I was talking with this same TV loving student the other day during class and we were discussing Gossip Girl. I was replaying a scene and said, "Why did you sleep with him?" At that moment I realized that another student had walked to the front to get something and heard it all. He was astonished and tried to slip away slowly with fear that he was not supposed to hear what was just said by the sub. I fixed it and explained the whole thing to him.
I love these kids.

I am Blessed...

2007-10-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

School has begun, well a while back. Coaching is great. Vollyeball ends Sat. I must say I am ok with that, not because we only won 4 games but because that means baketball is soon approaching. Here is the deal, I like playing volleyball but I like coaching basketball. I thought it would be different. Maybe it is because I coach middle school volleyball and high school basketball or maybe it is because they yell at me when I do not sit down on the bench in volleyball and let me tell you I cannot coach sitting down. Now, this does not mean that I hate coaching volleyball or that I hate middle school girls, because I love them and it. There is just something about high school basketball that I love and those girls that I have gotten close to on the team. So, October 15 starts the season and the fun. I am also teaching a pe class here. I thought it would not be fun to teach pe, I will just say it because of the non athletic kids, but I love them. I would have never gotten to know these kids here because they do not play sports and therefore are not the "well known" kids in school here. But, they are awesome people. We play kickball, volleyball, soccer, mafia, duck duck goose-that is right and the animal game. I had to stop playing athletic games because it was hard for me to watch and not coach. I am working on making up more games. It is a Mon, Tues, Thurs class and it lasts an hour and a half which does in fact get very long, but they are sweet kids and I have enjoyed getting to know them. I am also subbing, which I hate, but oh well. Little extra money never hurt. All this to say I am blessed. I am blessed to form relationships with these high schoolers and get to talk with them daily about their lives and get to share my life with them. I am blessed to work with the staff I work with and make fun of the kids with them and go to lunch and share life with them. I am blessed because I get to work at a place that share Jesus Christ as the common Lord in life. I am blessed because I get to meet the kids' parents and learn where they came from. I am blessed because I get to see my parents everyday and hang out with them. I am blessed because I am blessed for so many reasons. I just need to remind myself of them from time to time.

Back from The Port...

2007-08-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

I am back from my three and half month journey in Portland, OR. It was a great time had by all. I made friends for life, crossed many bridges, went through many tunnells (honked everytime), learned how to clap and stomp at the same time (thanks Ike), grew spiritually, went berry picking, fell in love with so many kids, said pop or soda instead of the generic coke, drove by Donald Miller's house everyday I could-do not judge me, came really close to hitting many a pedestrian (they will just start walking across the street), saw mountains daily, hiked the waterfalls, was able to breath because of the real trees, never had to pump my own gas-it was great, sweat my butt off daily (thanks to no A/C anywhere), rode on public transportation, went to the market, saw many crazy people, had bubble tea, ate some good salmon, laughed, loved, hugged, prayed, talked, had a blast and most importantly saw a handful of vanagons daily. Those are just a few things from my adventure. I have to admit it took a little bit for me to fall in love with it, but once I did it was head over heels. The mountains are beautiful and the morning air is just right. I absolutely loved that downtown is split by the Willamette river, it is amazing. Walking around downtown is wonderful. Oh yeah and I had to get used to walking everywhere. That is just what they do and I it grew on me. I enjoyed immensely that everyone just does their own thing. It does not matter what is in style or the latest trend, people just wear and do what they want. People are kind and not judgemental. The people in Portland are crazy they start random parades in the street, many women do not wear bras, sometimes you cannot tell what gender they are, mohawks were frequent hairstyles on kids, riding on really tall bikes and many other things that I frankly should not mention on here. At first my comments were "only in Portland", but I quickly got used to it so I hardly noticed the strange happenings. It was a great summer. I took over 2000 pictures all summer. The summer program went by very quickly, but it was fantastic. I actually feel bad now when I throw a can or plastic bottle in the trash can. Worshiping at Pump was awesome. I am forever thankful to be a part of the pump family. I think the most important thing I learned was to just live simply.

Looked Fun...100 Things

2007-08-08T17:46:00.000-07:00

1. I split my gum in half and chew one on each side of my mouth
2. I rarely burp and hate when others do
3. My favorite color is blue
4. I love the smell of gasoline, sharpies and freshly mowed grass
5. It is official- I am a mac lover
6. I hate wearing jeans and pretty much never do
7. I really want to see Mount Rushmore
8. I love staying up late
9. I take a shower every morning
10. I buy a new shampoo each time I run out
11. I love commercials
12. Jingles are my favorite
13. I love folding clothes
14. I love ironing clothes
15. I am obsessed with tunnels and bridges
16. I hate using my blinker b/c of the sound it makes
17. I hate not matching, but after living in Portland I embrace it
18. I have never put make-up on myself
19. I love to be dared
20. I love tan lines, especially flip flop lines
21. If I could change one thing-I would sing like a bird
22. I love useless facts
23. I love coaching
24. I love travelling
25. I love cherry coke a little too much
26. I love mexican coka
27. My senior year in high school I became allergic to bananas/cats/cookie dough/canteloupe
28. I have been disfellowshiped from the church of christ
29. I lost my toenail at a Kelly Clarkson concert
30. I have met and stalked Kelly Clarkson
31. I have met Cal Ripken Jr 3 times
32. One time he said he was going to hit a homerun for me and he did
33. I hate when people slurp their drink
34. I do not really like chocolate
35. Mo and I moved 4 times in 4 semesters
36. I love sharpies
37. I have to honk my horn when going under a tunnel
38. I eat a bag of popcorn almost every night
39. I got hit by a bike in college
40. I lost my short term memory for 9 days
41. Still do not remember those 9 days
42. I watch way too much tv-do not judge me
43. My closet is organized by colors-rainbow
44. So is my dresser
45. I have never hit snooze
46. I would rather sleep on a couch than a bed
47. I have not worn deodorant in over a year
48. I write my letters backwards
49. In third grade a boy stabbed me in the butt with a mechanical pencil
50. I love movies
51. I say color like colon with an r at the end
52. I put an l in the word both-bolth
53. I was born in Hobbs, NM
54. I have lived in 10 different cities
55. I do not like talking on the phone
56. This is getting difficult
57. I only drink water with packets of flavor in them
58. Peach tea is my favorite flavor to put in water
59. Other than the packets I do not like peach tea
60. I enjoy being the middle child
61. Never had middle child syndrome
62. I never have to look at menus b/c I get the same thing
63. I have grown to love salmon living in Portland
64. I love going to baseball games
65. I have a goal of visiting all the mlb fields
66. Wendy's is my favorite fast food
67. My mom's spaghetti is my favorite food
68. I could eat it daily
69. I really want to go to Haiti
70. I really want to go to Africa
71. I want to be on the amazing race
72. I love reality shows
73. Documentaries are the greatest
74. I love to organize things
75. Some might say I am ocd
76. I hate feet
77. I do not like it when people touch my head
78. I love and always will love sing song
79. I miss playing flag football
80. I cannot really swim
81. I do not cry very often
82. I enjoy hanging out with friends
83. I love remember whens...
84. Laughing is my favorite thing
85. I do not use a sheet, only a comforter
86. My ears are not pierced
87. I had surgery on both knees in high school
88. They are numb from the surgeries
89. I want to have a lot of kids when I get older
90. I kind of never want to grow up
91. I do not turn the radio up very loud in my car
92. I love kidd kraddick in the morning
93. I love to draw
94. I do not get sick very often
95. I only use pilot G2 blue pens to write with
96. I got in school suspension when I was in third grade
97. I broke my nose doing a skit in the locker room before a bball game in high school
98. I broke my toe playing hide and seek in the dark in a church in middle school
99. I hated middle school
100. College was the best 4 years of my life--I love the friends I made for life in college

So, I say it wrong-whatev...

2007-07-29T20:20:00.000-07:00

For those that know me, I say the word color wrong-always have. For those that do not me well, I say it like colon with an r at the end. Get over it.
At church this morning, I leaned over to some kids and asked if they wanted to color. The little 5th grade girl looked at me and no lie said, "What's a color?"
Fine, I say it wrong. That is right I admitted it, finally.

A Masterpiece...

2007-05-22T17:40:00.000-07:00

I am currently in Portland, OR until Aug 19. Since being here I have met many people, but there is one little guy that is pretty much my favorite. His name is Isaiah and he is 6 years old. Now, the first day I met him he shook his butt and said he was "shaking his money maker" since then the laughs have not stopped. Today, after school, he wanted to make a sandwich and split it with me. He said he wanted to make it out of his secret ingredients. Let me tell you they were not a secret for long. This sandwich that we split consisted of ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard and bar-b-q sauce. That is right, dead serious. You know what I actually ate my half too. It was for sure a masterpiece. I look forward to sharing more sandwiches with my boy, Isaiah, in the future let's just hope he allows me to make them.

Old/Irony

2007-04-25T08:42:00.000-07:00

I was subbing the other day and made a joke about Fraggle Rock and they all just looked at me. I have never felt so old.

I said I would never...wear a windsuit or live with my parents.
The other night I was driving home to my parents house while wearing a windsuit, oh the irony.

School...

2007-03-27T12:07:00.000-07:00

I really do not understand why kids say they hate school. All it is is hanging out with friends, honestly. There is some work, but let's face it, they either do not do their work, copy from others, work in groups, or have no friends and get finished quickly. I know they do not listen or pay attention. They think it is so boring, but why all they do is talk to friends in the hallways at the desk next to them or across the room from them. When they do not have a class with a buddy they text them all during class. If they must talk to their friend right then, they meet up in the bathroom or somewhere. I know you are stuck inside all day, but not really. I know you have to listen to a teacher, but who really does that. I know you have to actually bring your books to class and hand things in every now and then, but that could be taken care of easily. Now, do not get me wrong I hated school too, but now that I think about it why did I hate it so?
It is funny to watch kids flock to other kids like them and to hear conversations between middle school kids and the drama of high school kids. But, sometimes I just hurt for those that I see by themselves constantly. One kid comes to mind.
Let me try to set him up for you, this will not give it justice.
Crazy bed hair daily (night showerer, obviously), shorts pulled up so high it is sick, the woven belt and the loop (no lie), huge glasses that are constantly at the end of his nose, tall socks, white tennis shoes, he always has three items that he is carrying: one being a roller backpack another a small bag on his back and the other you could probably guess it a band instrument. While holding all these things, he runs from class to class. I will top all that off with he sounds like mickey mouse when he speaks. This was classic the other day he was late for track and when we asked him why he told us in his mickey voice, while looking all around that his mom made him take two showers and he had no clue why. Oh to be a middle schooler again, I do not think so.

Spring Break...

2007-03-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

You have not seen an angry mob until you tell a 100 plus passengers to change from gate C7 to gate C21 due to a missing part on the plane. Wow, I heard a huge sigh and then just moaning. The people that were the best to watch were the passengers in group A, obviously I flew Southwest. They were pissed because they for sure had their choice of seats, then in a matter of seconds all that was messed up. It was completely out of their control. This mad mob of passengers was literally running through the airport to beat the others to the gate. I noticed through all the confusion a sweet lady in a wheelchair. She was told that a worker would come back for her because they also had to wheel three others. She sat there and watched the angry mob dart around the chair people flew past her paying no attention, some hit her and some brushed by her and others did nothing short of juked her to get around the wheelchair. Granted, she was a preboarder so she need not worry about where she was in line, but still it was sad to watch people run so carelessly around her. I heard many complaints of not getting a good seat and plans of one rushing ahead and getting in line while the other carried the luggage of the two. It was a sight to see. Once everyone got to their places and called the people picking them up, we heard over the speaker that there was now a flat tire on this new plane and it would be another hour or so before we took off. The groaning and complaining had escalated at this point as people began reaching for their cell phones. This was so great to witness and I was able to eat dinner now, so very content. I love hearing people talking to those around them and meeting new people. I got to make some friends while we waited. We finally boarded and took off.
This was all possible because I was able to spend some quality time with Mo and Blake in Nashville. It was so great to see them. It felt like old times when we all lived together, just conversation has changed a bit to real life instead of chapel or some kid that looks like a bumble bee in history class. I also spent time in San Antonio and that was great as well.
Hopefully, it will not take me so long to post again, no promises though.

Subbing, not a career...

2007-01-21T14:28:00.000-08:00

It has been a while. I will try to catch you up on my oh so thrilling life.
Subbing has been full of great moments and not so great moments. Let me just say that a few times I have felt as though I was back in high school, b/c yes I have been in trouble as a sub. The kids are great, well sometimes. I often hear, "Are you the sub?" To which I quickly reply with a much deserved sarcastic remark like, "Do I look like your teacher?" or a "I bet you already know the answer" or my favorite, "Nope, just holding the door open for you." I have occasionally let the ole foot in mouth get me a few times as well. One time I asked 2 students if they were dating and they denied that and the class began harassing them, so I had to go a step further and ask if they were friends with benefits, why do I do things like that just leave it alone.
I am also coaching JV and assisting Varsity girls basketball at Southwest Christian High School in Ft Worth. I am loving almost every minute of being an eagle. I could not have hand picked a better group of girls. We were doing pretty well until district began, you know the games that count. They are young and they are learning. I have really enjoyed getting to know them aside from basketball and hearing all the boy drama as well as friend drama. It has been a great experience and I hope to continue this for a while.
Not to mention I am living with the parents, which pretty much speaks for itself.

Shout out...

2006-09-08T11:00:00.000-07:00

This week I have been in Austin living with or shall I say bumming off of Jen and Ros. It has been good. Good to be with friends and hang out. I have felt a tad useless b/c I have no job and in the day I eat and look online for work. This week as I lived in their living room, ate off their dishes and used their washer and dryer I realized again that friends are so important. We need people. We need friends. We need each other. We do not need the latest model of a certain car or the most trendy shirt or the biggest TV. We just need someone in our lives that will not be afraid to walk up to us and tell us that we fill in the blank. Those cars and shirts and TVs will all go out as soon as the latest versions come in, but as Ecclesiastes says a cord of three strands is not easily broken. Two are so much stronger than one. I hope that someday I can return the favor and help them out when they need it. Why do so many live without the fortune of having really really good friends that lift them up or that tell them honestly what they might not want to hear. We need others b/c we cannot see our blind spots. All I am saying is think about those people, those close friends this week. Love you all.

b/c Ros told me to do so...

2006-08-30T12:21:00.000-07:00

I am now unemployed and living in Austin with 2 of the greatest people ever. Without hesitation Mija and Ros gladly took me in. I am so thankful for friends like them. It has been great, I have just been hanging out by myself in the day and then with them at night. The first night we went to HEB late and then we just sit around and talk. Last night Ros made cookies, b/c I wanted some. I am trying to teach Ros to be an offensive driver instead of so cautious, pray for me, haha. Really it has been fantastic here. It almost feels like I am in college again, I do not hate that.
Oak Hills was good. I am glad I had that year to love on kids and get loved on. I met some pretty stinkin great people. It is just cool to have friends in many places. I learned a lot and grew a lot. I just love people and love being around people.
This is not much of an entry, but it beats writing about my toenail, which I still do not have.
Listen, a good friend by the name Jenny Thompson, reminded me of my shout outs the other day. I will not start sending them out, but thinking about just making a blog entry every Friday and making that my shout out. Stay tuned for the first shout out. Love you guys.

I had to say goodbye...

2006-08-08T13:11:00.000-07:00

After many months of freaking people out when they looked at my toe, I finally ended that nasty saga. It was sometimes, ok always, fun for me to show my sick toe to people. I also loved talking to people and catching them look down and try not to make a gross face or even throw up about what they had just seen. I cannot explain it and pictures would not be good for those with weak stomachs, but this had gone on too long. It all started in April when the toenail became ingrown. Refer back to viewer discretion is advised. After I got it cut out and took care of it, it finally died and looked awful. That is when I painted it to make it not so nasty, but it did not help much.
The real end to it all began when I went to the Kelly Clarkson concert Friday before last. That is right I went to a Kelly Clarkson concert and it was so sweet, I have no shame in saying it was probably the best concert ever. Hall and I attended the awesome festivities and had amazing seats. I digress. So, as we are leaving the concert and I clip the dead toenail on this girls shoe in front of me. That hurt so bad, I walked over to the side, away from the crowd, and tried to pull it off. Well, one part was not dead and that was the tiny left corner at the bottom still attached to nerve endings, not allowing me to pull the nail off. So, I walked back to the car with a bloody toe and tried to pull it off a few times that week and...nothing. Finally, last Thursday night I went to clip some of the dead nail off that was just hanging around and I lifted it and the whole thing just came right off. Walla, it was a glorious thing. It did bleed for a second, but it looks so much better now that it is gone, you would not believe. The end has finally come after many months of toil and now I await the new nail that will grow in. Thanks for sticking it through with me to the bitter end. I would like to thank my doctor for cutting, the dog for stepping on it and making me call the doctor, Hall for listening to me talk about it, you guys for reading (if you still are), All those that did not throw up when looking at it and really wanted to, last but not least the girl that wore the shoe that I clipped it on and allowed it to come all the way off.

Back Again...

2006-07-02T12:28:00.000-07:00

I have not had much to blog about since Hall moved away, everything weird or worth blogging about happened while she was here. However, I do have one for the books. As a disclaimer, be forewarned that this is pretty disgusting it may even beat my nasty toe story. Here it goes.
Zach Garza, a new intern to Oak Hills, therefore my new colleague, and I went to Fiesta Texas. We snuck away from the office for about 2 hours, just enough time to ride all the big roller coasters and get back to the office without anyone asking a single question. We were searching for this coaster that was pretty much hidden from us, actually we noticed all of them are hidden; they all have these tiny entrances in between two shops or behind another coaster, and I digress. Ok, back on track, we landed in the kiddie stuff and so I decided to ask a guy that was working one of the games where this certain ride was. He kindly proceeded to tell us how to get there and after a few words he said wait (this is where it gets ugly) and right in front of our faces, in mid sentence he puts his entire hand in his mouth and takes out his slobber infested retainer. It was a-w-f-u-l (read slowly for effect). He then finished the directions and we walked away. I almost threw up my Wendy's nuggets and definitely could not focus on what he was saying after that repulsive act. Who does that, who?
A lot has been happening this summer. I have been on 2 trips and tonight I leave for the 3rd one. I am pretty pumped about it, except that I am missing the 4th of July. I love the 4th b/c the entire country is doing the exact same thing cooking out, hanging out, and watching fireworks. So live it up, for me.
I got a myspace and feel as though I might be cheating on this and facebook. I see it differently though and my time must be spaced out between the three. I just hope none feel neglected through this process of going back and forth and in between. Oh well I am over it. Good to be back here though.
I am job searching and that process is fun and frustrating and anything else that describes things, adjectives I believe.
Alright, here it is in a nutshell Kami got married, Riley moved to Waco, Hall moved to Abilene, I have been going on trip after trip, Zach started work at Oak Hills, and I have been looking at options for when I am finished here in August.

Latest and Greatest...

2006-05-24T13:51:00.000-07:00

I cannot take all the credit, it was found on another's blog and I also heard it was on the view, but it is taking up all my time and I love it. Go to myheritage.com and you can see what celebrities you look like. It is the coolest. I looked like Billy Crystal, Jennifer Garner, Mischa Barton, an old 18th century guy (could not pronounce his name), and a few others. They were all pretty right on though. Your turn...

Viewer discretion is advised...

2006-05-13T14:11:00.000-07:00

After about a month of pain; enduring people stepping on my toe and trying to cut through my skin every night to get the sucker out, I finally went to the doctor and had him take out my ingrown toe nail. It was quiet the experience. He deadened my toe with three shots and cut half my toe nail off and pulled it out. He then explained to me why I should cut them the right way and how they are caused, it makes so much sense now. I was instructed not to take the wrap off my toe until the next day and so I followed directions, of course.
The next day. I got up the next morning and proceeded to get in the shower. This was the time I could take off the wrapping and was very curious to see what it looked like underneath. First off, you must know that my dad passed down to me the great fainting ability when you see something that disgusts you or a huge amount of blood, both of these things happened, but not until I got in the shower. At first I thought it was very neat and checked it out, feeling very proud that I was not getting light headed. Then, I got in the shower and put shampoo in my hair and looked down and thought half of my toe nail is off and it looks sick at that moment I began to blackout and knew what I had to do, get out and fast. I pulled back the shower curtain and laid on the bathroom floor in the buff, with the water still running. It was a very funny experience and as I lay there I began to laugh out loud and thanked my dad for the fainting hand me downs. I am fine now, do not worry and the bathroom has been cleaned. However, the toe looks pretty nasty. For those that are still reading, thanks for letting me share my story, gross as it may have been.

It's Been A While...

2006-05-01T08:21:00.000-07:00

Where to start?
I have been a slacker and thought about posting many times, but have had no funny stories or really anything to account for that has been worth telling and making people sit there and read. I will post more as the summer comes up b/c I am sure I will have many stories after the trips and not to mention Garza is coming here to work and that will just be awesome.
I went golfing for the first time ever. It was so much fun, but let us say I am not a candidate for the green jacket anytime soon. A good friend told me, "You will have a few good shots that keep you coming back to the course." That I did and instead of the course I will stick to the driving range until I feel comfortable.
On Friday night Beth and I went to Austin to a Matt Wertz concert. I must say he is a pretty good performer. I was able to eat dinner and attend the concert with Mija (Jen Perkins), Ros (Rosalyn Perry), and Ferika (Erika Watts). It was an absolute blast. Ferika made a comment, "Americans are so boring they just stand around and watch some guy perform for them, I want to dance." Those that know her well know that she then began dancing and did not stop for the rest of the concert. Let me set the stage. It was at a night club downtown Austin and I think we were the only few that did not have our hand stamped. Highschoolers flooded the place. It was a small, dark, crowded room, and I might be getting too old but it was freakin loud at least while Josh Hoge was performing and I hate to say it but he was terrible. The other two guys were pretty good and one Matt Kearney sounded a little like Coldplay. But the true highlight of my week was Ferika and Mija livening up the place and dancing for a long time while we stood there laughing at those around us giving them funny looks. It was priceless.

Here is a new one Kat...

2006-03-22T09:17:00.000-08:00

Last week was spring break, for those blessed to still have one, including, but not limited to, teachers, students, and youth ministers. Our student ministries went skiing in Winter Park, CO. This takes me back to many memories b/c it was the first place I learned to ski. This time I tried snowboarding for many reasons really; skiing hurts my knees, I see no real point in it (meaning there is no scoreboard, you just go up and down a mountain) sorry to all those that love skiing/snowboarding, you must have great snow (powder) or everyone complains, and if it snows too much bringing the powder it is too cold while skiing. Snowboarding was great. I liked it better than skiing, it did not hurt my knees it hurt my butt though. I fell a lot the first day, I am no Olympian, but I am ok. My brother, Riley, is very good at snowboarding so I called him to get some tips and he just laughed and told me to bring some cushion for my butt. Thanks bud.
The best part was getting on and off the lift. I can do it alright with skis, but a snowboard that is awkward. It was hilarious and I fell almost every time I got off. Yes, I was that girl that they had to stop the lift for to get out of the way.
I had fun on the trip. We took 41 kids and 9 adults that is 50 total for those having trouble. We rode in a charter that was pretty nice until boys began using the bathroom at the back of the bus. Good idea to make toilets in a moving vehicle, but not really. Sure you do not have to stop as much, but hold it until you must stop to eat. It snowed the first and third days we were there. We stayed in a young life facility and it was gorgeous.
The Charter: Our bus driver was from San Antonio, so needless to say he had never driven in snow before, we got stuck a few times. One time we had to trek it back to the camp sight about a half mile away through a blizzard. As Austin said while walking through it, "This is the most hardcore thing I have ever done." We were scheduled to leave Wed around 6:00 pm and drive all night. Well, we were snowed in and so we had to stay another night. We left the next morning around 7:00 am. It is a 20 hour bus ride, oh no my friends, it was a 34 hour bus ride. Our bus broke down in none other than Dumas, TX (I thought about you, Lij). I was absolutely opposed to getting an ipod for a long time now, after this I am looking at getting a video ipod for the summer trips. It is an investment I must make before another bus breaks down and I hear the word shut up coming from high school students more times than I like to remember.
The upside, there is always an upside, many kids came on the trip that I had never seen before. I got to know many kids and hear their stories. It was great and lately it has been breaking my heart over the kids that we say "do not belong". What does that even mean? How are we "cool" and they are not? I am not perfect, I have made fun and not allowed those people in "my group" before, but why. There are no legitimate reasons and for those people I have hurt, I am sorry.
When a guy on the trip talked about how he did not fit and he knew that when he walked away they called him a fag and other names and he did not care about that, but why would he go to church when he has friends at school that treat him better than those at church. Amen. That is our problem, we think we are better than. This is where I go back to my last post, there is no ladder. I am realizing that the only important thing in life is to be like Jesus. I want that more than anything.
There is your post, Kat.

There is no ladder...

2006-03-06T10:52:00.000-08:00

So, my roomie has been gone for a long time now. She gets back this Thurs though, wahooo. I am pretty pumped b/c it has been pretty lonely. It was ok for the first couple of days, then at night when we watch our shows and recap our days it was pretty boring and lonely. Which brings me to my next thought.
I love growing up and learning new and different things. I love new situations that enlighten my thoughts and allow me to process what I think and feel about all sorts of things. I love going through many situations and I really love where I have been and all that it has taught me. Let me tell you right now that I am reading this book that you all must read. As most of you know I am not in any way "a reader", so this book is not new by any means b/c I am usually the last to find out about the "cool, new" books. I think it is a couple of years old and also as you know I am not really on the up and up.
(Real quick let me tell you what just happened in the office. I am filling out these ski forms online that require many stats about the skier, such as height, weight, shoe size you get the point. One kid did not fill out his form in its entirety, so I needed a little help on this guys stats. I start to ask Austin and got distracted then I did it again and again, after the fourth time of doing that he turned around and said, "Wow, you are going to have to formulate a sentence at some point." It was absolutely the funniest thing that has come out of that kids mouth and I died laughing.)
Back to reality, this book that is quickly changing my life is called "Searching for God Knows What" by Donald Miller yeah yeah he wrote Blue Like Jazz, but people I am telling you if you have not read or picked up this book do so today. It is great. I could go on and on about it and some may say I already have, but I love it.
I just got finished with the chapters about Adam and Eve and the fall of man and all I can say is beautiful. Every word I read in that chapter. I cannot wait to read on. I also read the part about the "alien" coming to earth. It was perfect. Not to forget the lifeboat theory. Wow, this guy is great. There is no ladder. We are all equal. Think about it. If we are to become like Jesus and truly get who He is, we must first learn that there is no ladder.
Out of all the books on my shelf if you want to find out the ones I have really read, which are about 4, you can flip through them and see if any sentence or word or paragraph is underlined. I am an underlined b/c if it was a good point and I want to go back to it at some point it is easier than reading it all over. Hey, I read it once not going to do it again. Let me be the first to say I think I have underlined almost every word on every page of this book.
I got to spend a whole day with my daddy. It was a great day that Friday. We went to the girls state basketball tournament at UT in Austin. We had a blast together eating, watching basketball, eating some more. Nothing better than quality time with my daddy. Missed you, ma.
I also got to see and hang out with Mija, Ros, and Ferika. It was very refreshing to see them and eat at Shady Grove. Many good times and lots of laughter. If you go there do not get Aaron with the toboggan and long curly hair to be your waiter.
At the last game I got to see an old h.s. teacher and great friend and my boys who are growing up too fast. That was fun.
I thought about giving up certain things for lent i.e. cokes, fast food, and tv. Then, I thought yeah right, get real. Therefore, I figured I needed to start a few things i.e. reading (doing that) and working out (have done it once and plan to begin) I know what you are all saying right now, shut up.

I get it now...

2006-02-22T09:40:00.000-08:00

As I drove away from an incredible weekend in Abilene I was reminded of a conversation I once had with my Daddy (yes I am 23 and still call him daddy). I asked him why he wanted to go back to Abilene all the time and even live there again. He said one day you will get it. Well, I did, I got it. While getting on the loop to head back to San Antonio I got it. At that moment I understood what he was talking about. The love, the community, the hugs, the smiles, the laughter, the friendships, the campus, and the familiarity of the small town. I like Abilene, I said it and I mean it.
This weekend was so great not only to get away but to spend time with people that I used to see everyday on my way to class or on my work "errands" that took me hours. Sing song was wonderful, weird to not be a part of the show, but sweet to look on from the audience and watch a 2 minute segment that I knew had been worked on and toiled over for months to get it perfect and perfect it was, drama and all.
I got to see and visit with old friends that were part of my life for four years and still are in different ways. It is great to go back and eat the food, see the people, and of course sing 'The Lord bless you and Keep you'.
Hall and I soaked up every minute while we were there. We ran back in Moody when we heard of the malfunction, we walked around campus, we went to the mall, we ate with best friends, we stayed with a best friend, I got to eat with an old friend that was there for lectureship and just soak up his wisdom and hear more of his journey, we ate at Rosas, Bueno, Chicken Express, shopped in the campus store, and just saw friends the entire time. I asked a few times if there was anything else Hall wanted to do while in Abilene and all she said was, "walk around campus". Reading this you might think I still live in the old days, the college years, but I do not. I was just reminded this weekend of how great it was and how much it impacted my life and how awesome the friends I have from that experience.
So, friends, thanks for what you mean to me. It was great seeing you all this weekend and catching up on how life is and all that it brings.

Bison Country...

2006-02-10T08:37:00.000-08:00

Right now I write to from Harding's Student Center, that is right all you wildcats I crossed over to the other side. I am realizing the differences, the pros and cons and why all people that go to either university love whichever one they are at, most of the time.
I just learned I am actually in the "pit". It is pretty cool all decked out with a fireplace, TV, java city, smoothie company, bookstore, university store, and plenty of food places. Granted they cannot live off campus so they must cater to freshman through senior, but it is a pretty big place arranged very uniquely. Now, Searcy does not have much to speak of except a Wal Mart and those started in Arkansas so I hope every town in this state has one.
The basketball game last night was a blast, this is one thing Harding has over ACU. The gym was packed and all the students wore black, some freaks painted their faces. They have a lot of school spirit and I enjoyed that and listening to them yell different things together after certain plays or events. A few examples: when someone has 4 fouls they all hold up four fingers then yell, "1,2,3,4 uh oh somebody is in trouble" then point to that player and say, "you, you, you, you, you." When they foul out as the player walks back to the bench they go, "left, right, left, right" all the way to the seat, then go, "sit down". It was pretty funny b/c 2 guys fouled out last night so the team caught on to what they did. When the second fouled out he walked to the bench and acted like he was going to sit and went down and they all started to yell, then he got back up. I think I was the only one that was not from the other team that laughed out loud. After a 3 is made they yell, "O-le, O-le, O-le, O-le". It was just fun.
Chapel was a little old fashioned. They take roll by seats, so I cheated for someone today by sitting in their seat when they were gone, you are welcome whomever you are. Pros and cons to sliding in and out. You can sit wherever you like daily. But, it is hard to get others to slide for you. Here, you can just get someone to sit in your seat, a little get my back and I will get yours.
So, saying all of this has led me to believe that it is all about the people you meet. I met amazing people at ACU and would not change that for the world, I will change the world b/c of it though, haha. I also believe that if I were to go to say Pepperdine or Harding I would have met amazing people at those places as well. We are all going to want things to be different wherever we are and most of the time want to be elsewhere. All places have rules and regulations some more than others i.e. Harding and ACU, but both are great. Here is the thing be where you are and be who you are called to be. Sure it is always greener on the other side, but only if you water the other side. Water your side, make it better.
p.s. Anyone see my girl Kelly C. win not 1 but 2 grammy's that is right people. It was a tad disheartening that I did not get a thanks, but whatev.

How Great is Our God...

2006-02-06T11:21:00.000-08:00

The title of this blog is absolutely my favorite song right now. I think it will be for a long time to come. It is sung by Chris Tomlin. It is a song that, believe me, you do not want to be in the car with me when it comes on the radio b/c I belt it out as though I were Faith Hill or Kelly Clarkson. The title says it all but it goes beyond that. I have no clue where this is going just work with me here. He is so great. Lately I have tried to look around at the small things and I have realized that He is in it all, I knew that, it is just very evident at this moment. I lose focus when I look at the big picture of things. He absolutely goes before us and prepares the way. I can see that all around me with the friends he has blessed me with everywhere I go and the things he puts in my hand to do or to be a part of. Right now I am overwhelmed with His love and the way he puts it all together for us. Wow. I can think back to even an hour ago and see why He did that. Often times though I do not see the reason until years later. Look around today and see where He has placed you and know it is for a reason. You might think it is crappy and ready to move to the next place, but be there for Him and bless those around you. Love you guys. I could write all day, but I will spare you.
We lost our game, again, Sat. We only have 2 more left. I think I will miss losing, nah, the kids though.
DNow this weekend was great. I got to see many friends and through them were greatly encouraged.
Kami has given us choices for bridesmaid dresses and she got her dress, it is coming together.
Sing song is near. I must fix my speaker before we go b/c I made a promise and b/c it is flat annoying when it acts up.
Encourage someone today.
Thought for the day: I wish it were still cool to tuck in your shirts. Thought about b/c Austin noticed they all have their shirts tucked in on the front of the lectureship booklet.

I have learned the hard way, winning is not everything...

2006-01-28T14:26:00.000-08:00

Count yet another loss for my little 5th and 6th grade girls. Bless their hearts they are so cute, but cannot shoot a ball for the life of them. We played the other Oak Hills team today and it was what I thought to be a little better match up. Most of the other teams we have played have had girls my size, I wonder what they feed these girls. They are huge, beasts I tell you, beasts. This afternoon was a little better, we actually hit double digits. Now, I know winning is not everything, it is the only thing. Kidding, but after a while it does get to you. At least it gets to me, I think the girls just want the snack after the game. Here are some things I heard from the bench today while the game was going on: "Coach K, can I go say hi to my friend she just walked in?", "Can I give this to my dad (referring to a bracelet)?", "If we win can we go have a pizza party?", or one of my personal favorites during a time out, "coach K can I go to the bathroom?" (asked from one of the girls sitting on the bench), it was all over when a group of cheerleaders came in loud and decked out in blue I had lost them, they started asking me what they were doing. No you may not go say hi to your friend. No, you cannot give that to your dad during the game. A pizza party if you win? You have never won, try that before planning the celebration. Sure you can go to the bathroom. I have no clue what those girls are doing, focus on the game. Now, those questions tell me they do not give a rat's tail. At least I am having fun and so are they, most of the time. This is my humble lesson, but I still love winning.
On a side note: The friends thing might be a rumor, stink.

Fantastic News!!!

2006-01-23T11:02:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to pass along some of the best news ever. F.R.I.E.N.D.S, you know my favorite show that I aspire my life after (kidding, kind of), is going to have 4 one hour episodes on TV next year, specific date soon to come. Also, the 3 guys; Joey, Chandler, and Ross may sign to have a spin off called It's a Guy Thing. I am all over that spin off, unlike the Joey spin off. I am pretty pumped and can think of nothing else that makes me happier.

No matter how old or worn down she gets, I will always love her

2006-01-05T11:54:00.000-08:00

The break was a great one. I did not see Kelly Clarkson, but I got to see most of my great friends. It was so good talking with and getting caught up with everyone. Spending quality time with my family was needed and wonderful. My parents are just fantastic. Sad it is all over, but good to come back to San Antonio and see co-workers and office life, cannot beat it.
I got a call from Hall, who arrived a day before me. Austin was dropping her off at the apartment complex and she said, "did you leave your car here?" I said, "Shut up." Hall said, "seriously, it is not here in its spot." My first thought was that someone stole the blue bullet, I know it is popular, but leave her be people. Hall's vehicle had a note on it threatening to tow it. So, we figured mine got towed, just great. I called the next day expecting it to be around 80-85 dollars. Wrong! It was 324.30!!! Yeah, what the crap. So, we took off to retrieve old blue could it have been any further away. It was in the worst part of town, even old blue looked good. I was afraid we were going to get shot or I needed weed to trade for my car. We walked in and we might have cancer from walking in that place with all the second hand smoke. The lady had a cig liter hooked onto her computer as one of her drives, what the crap. Then, Hall pointed out a terrible picture on the wall of the lady. You know the pictures in Napoleon Dynamite hanging in their house, it was like those.
Then the plane ride back was one to speak of. First off, when Beth dropped me off at the airport the handle that pulls up to pull the bag would not come up, so I looked like an idiot carrying my bag through the airport. People were looking at me as though I did not know it had wheels. I needed a sign that said, I know it is broken. Well, on the plane I became that girl, here is why. I pretty much stuffed my bag on the way home with all new stuff I received. I was not about to check luggage, it was all going to be carry-on. After waiting forever because all planes were delayed we finally boarded the aircraft. I was sitting towards the back of the plane, so many were behind me. I was trying to get my bag in the compartment above my seat and it was not going in. I looked back and it was that scene on Dumb and Dumber when they turn the corner on their moped and so many cars are behind them. So, I apologized and said, "sorry, I am that girl". All the passengers were already pissed because it was late. I am literally shoving my bag in the compartment and an old lady looks over and says, "if you break that they will take all the people off this plane and we will have to wait on another one". I took that as stop trying to push it in, so I did and had to take things out of the front pocket of the bag and hold them. Great plane ride.

I have been tagged

2005-12-20T07:45:00.000-08:00

List 7 things to do before I die:
1. visit all the ballparks
2. become a mom
3. coach varsity volleyball or basketball at a 5a high school
4. live in the northeast area
5. see the 7 wonders of the world
6. learn another language
7. learn to play the piano
List 7 things I cannot (or will not) do:
1. stop drinking coca-cola classic
2. stop wearing khakis
3. stop buying movies
4. stop eating popcorn
5. stop comparing life to F.R.I.E.N.D.S
6. stop saying corny grandmaish things
7. stop laughing at everything
List 7 things that attract me to my (future) spouse:
1. his love for Christ and the way he shows that
2. his humor and the way he always makes me laugh
3. his love for people
4. his love for sports
5. his smile and laugh
6. his love for his family and mine
7. his knowledge
List 7 things I say most often:
1. unbelievable
2. what the crap?
3. I looooove _____
4. I am hungry
5. seriously
6. that's great
7. sweet
List 7 books or series that I love(this is very hard, not sure I have read 7 books in my lifetime):
1. blogs, they count, you all do it
2. Mere Christianity
3. Man's Search for Meaning
4. Wild At Heart
5. I will read Blue Like Jazz
6. I will finish Cure for the Common Life
7. Bible
List 7 movies I would watch over and over again (this too is hard, not for lack there of, but the exact opposite):
1. Cinderella Man
2. Mean Girls
3. Mr/Mrs Smith
4. Toy Story
5. The Notebook
6. The Terminal
7. The School of Rock
List 7 people I would love to join in:
1. Holly Porter
2. Erin Sedwick
3. Emily Wallace
4. Lij/Neen
5. MoMo/Blake
6. Mija
7. Ferika

Just to add something...

2005-12-14T10:01:00.000-08:00

Over on your right click on Kat and read her blog first.
Now, she left a few things out from the trip. Most of you know Zach Garza, if not you are missing out; huge guy, funny, afro, tall, stumbles over his words, large you get the point. He went on our campaign with us. We figured out very quickly that he would say the most inappropriate things at the worst times. We started calling them Zach Attacks. Here are just a few from the week.
Zach Attack #1
As Kat said the church was African American (keep that in mind), they were feeding us our last meal before we left them. It was a very nice gesture. If I remember correctly it was spaghetti. We were going through the line buffet style and Garza had already gotten his food and sat down, typical. While sitting he noticed he forgot to grab the eating utensils. In his defense, plastic wear is usually white and they had black plastic wear. (This is when you remember the statement above) Garza looked back and yelled, he yelled, "Can someone throw me some black wear?" It got completely silent, just imagine.
Zach Attack #2
Upon arriving at the church that so graciously took us in with so little warning they took Kat and me to the grocery store and they bought us tons of food for the entire week. They allowed us to stay at their church and fed us that night in their dining hall. Again in his defense, it was an old warehouse. I think I have mentioned how great they were with much hospitality and giving of all they had. Some people do not know exactly how to say thanks in these situations, Garza is one of them, bless his heart. He looks over to the lady and again yells, yes yells, "Thanks for letting us eat in your garage." What? Again, wow Garza just be quiet.
Zach Attack #3
An awesome family that lived across the street from Gillette stadium, this to say the house was gigantic, allowed all 17 of us to stay at their house. We were following the man down the hall as he showed us around, close behind him was Garza. I see Garza looking over at a picture on the wall of three girls, crap what is he about to do. Immediately he asks the guy if those are his daughters, the man replied, "yes" and Garza says, "WOW, they are hot." We all just bust out laughing.
There is absolutely nothing you can do about these Zach Attacks, they come when you least expect them and you sure as heck cannot stop them. I love Garza. Those are just a few of my favorites. Kat, great story.

It's the most wonderful time of the year

2005-12-12T09:16:00.000-08:00

I tried to post one last week and whilst (thanks Chandler from friends) I was in the middle of, what I think was a great one, Austin looks over and says the internet is down you should save that. The next button I pushed, it all deleted. I was devastated, not really, but just did not want to redo it all right then. I will try to place in the highlights of the last one, but no promises.
My meeting Kelly Clarkson was true, for you non-believers, but not as cool as Kat seeing Will Smith in Abilene, what? I believe her, I have to. But, did she get a picture with him, doubt it.
More great news: Linds King and Brent Couchman got engaged Friday night after graduation!!
Hess is finally getting married this Saturday, yesss!!
Truly it is the most wonderful time of the year. I love the lights on houses, the music, the trees, the hot chocolate, a Christmas story-the movie, the turtlenecks and sweaters, and sno; nevermind, not here. I really miss the house in Abilene, well a couple of them, but my favorite was the one right across from the ad building, that had so many lights up. It was so trashy, they loved this holiday and it showed. They got every decoration out they could and found a place to put it out in their yard or roof or wherever they could. You know what I am talking about. The other was the house on sayles with the half circle drive viewing a large room through a huge window with every santa clause since the idea was thought up.
This morning the student ministries staff dressed up in cheesy Christmas attire. Austin, of course, took it to the next level and colored a mustache on his face and wore glasses, he pretty much looked like Chester the molester, nasty. We all took pictures and had a blast, it was a grand ol time. We have so much together, I love laughing.
The other night we went to the infamous Lucado Christmas party. The house was packed. It was so great and you guessed it, David Robinson was there. I will not humiliate myself and Hall with the stalking throughout the night that occurred, but I will tell you of the end. We went to tell a friend bye and lo and behold she and her husband were talking to David and his wife. So, we were just going to wave and she said wait come here and went in for the hug. I was not going to argue and hugged her and then her husband then turned around to leave and saw this shadow coming down on me, I looked up only to see David collapsing on me and wrapping his long arms around me. Then, he kissed my cheek. It was as though his entire mouth was eating my face, that was sick. I love DRob he is so nice. I am starting to sound obsessed, I will stop.

I was a normal fan before tonight

2005-11-26T23:20:00.000-08:00

Tonight I became a little obsessed 13 year old girl. It was pretty awesome. I was a normal fan before tonight.
Here we go from the beginning. I came to Burleson for thanksgiving b/c my parents now live here. We went to dinner at Chili's and I never thought twice about Kelly being here. Until, we walked in the restaurant and my dad went to tell the lady we had 4 and heard someone behind him say, "Kelly". They seated us right away and when we got to our table dad told me he heard someone say, "Kelly" and he wondered if that was Kelly Clarkson. I turned around to look and did not think so. Boy was I wrong. I said, "don't you think if that was Kelly, they would have seated her already." Then, the waitress turned and said, "it is her" At that moment I got a little excited. I told my parents I should just walk up and introduce myself, jokingly. I had an excuse to stand close to her b/c Beth was meeting us at Chili's so I got up to go wait for her at the door. While waiting I thought why not just walk up and meet her, you only have one shot. I kept staring, of course, and watched a guy walk up and talk to one of her friends. Then he introduced himself and got her autograph, which he said was for his 7 year old niece, yeah right it was for him. As soon as he left I made my move. I went in for the kill. I walked over and tapped on her shoulder and she turned. My heart was pounding. I said, "I do not want to seem like a little 13 year old girl (she laughed), but I want to introduce myself. I am Kenli." She said, "hi, nice to meet you." I said, "My friend, Hall, looooves (you know how I say loves, Rosalyn) you." Then, I said, "Can I do another 13 year old, stalkerish thing and get a picture with you." She said, "of course." So, I took out my old phone and she commented on it and her friend, the one she bought the car for, took our picture. It is for sure my background. After that I said, "nice to meet you, see ya later". What, see ya later, that was stupid. She said, "ok, tell your friend hi. It was awesome!! I met Kelly Clarkson. Then Beth showed up and we sat down and I told her the whole story. My dad said, "only Kenli". We freaked out and tried to watch her the whole time. You might think the story ends there, but it does not.
I get home and Beth calls. She told me she had turned around b/c that was Kelly freakin Clarkson and we needed to do something about that. So, I went back with camera in hand and we sat in Beth's car waiting to play paparazzi. She came out and we sat and waited and waited and took a few pics and waited some more. She finally got into a black tahoe, that had been waiting in the parking lot for her, and they drove away, with us in close proximity. We went down this one road for many miles and were dying laughing the whole time. At one point Beth said, "Are we really doing this?" They turned, so we turned. Until they turned into their private driveway, the following, or should I say stalking, had come to an end. It was great while it lasted. She lives on Benton Lawson. Yeah, I know where Kelly lives. I even took a picture of her mailbox. This could have been the best night ever.

Wahooooo

2005-11-22T08:24:00.000-08:00

Kami got engaged!!! She is in Houston teaching and coaching and has been dating another teacher and coach at the same school, how cute. His name is Will Del Re. He popped the question Saturday night. I had to wait to post so that Kami could share the good news with all her close friends.
Can I just say that I love DVR. This thing has been one of the best purchases of my entire existence. Since we have this lovely invention I have had the chance to watch reruns of one of my favorite shows. If you did not think I was nerd before you will now. Everyday at 5:00 Who wants to be a millionaire comes on and I get to watch it commercial free in the evenings. I love it so much.
I am pumped b/c the 10 and final season of Friends came out on Tuesday. Yes, I have already purchased and almost completed watching it. I cannot bring myself to watch the last one, though I have seen it a million times. That would mean that it is really over, I know it has been 2 years, but that would really mean they are no longer on the air. That brings me to the beauty of seasons of TV on DVD. Another great thing in life. I can sit and watch Friends to my little hearts content.
As I sit here and type a maintenance man has entered the room to get the trash out, a nice thing. He told another intern in the office with me that he is too young to have complaints, what. After he took out the trash he began sweeping the floor, also a nice thing but found it a little odd while we were in the room. I figured he would just sweep in the areas where we were not, then I felt a soft brush across my foot, seriously you just swept my foot. He never said a word, I moved out of the way and he continued sweeping as if he never noticed me. I love random people.

Gotta love a good story...

2005-11-17T11:40:00.000-08:00

You know when you wait for something funny to happen and your first thought when it finally does is I will blog about that, well it happened to me and Hall yesterday. (Read this also posted on her blog lindsayhallerbackgirl.blogspot.com) My friend, Hall (Lindsay Hall) asked me to go to the drug store with her and, of course, I said yes. We get there and a small pakistan man named Leo comes up to us and you know the drill asks us if we need help or if we have questions just ask him. (When I say Leo picture a short pakistan man with a white button down GNC shirt and nasty hair protruding out with nonetheless a gold chain around his neck.) Well, Hall had a drug in her hand and so she just mentioned about being interested in that...wrong thing to say. Leo proceeded to tell us everything about this drug and more for the next 20 minutes, seemed like an hour. It was one of those instances where you could tell he had read up on this item and knew everything about it and just waited for the day that a customer came in and picked it up so he could share all that he knew. Finally, he leaves to go help another customer and all I can say is, all he did was make me hungry. We laughed about old Leo and then we heard footsteps, I knew he was back. He grabbed another bottle of pills that goes hand in hand with the first and, you guessed it told us all about that one too. At that point I am just trying to keep a straight face and cannot, I repeat, cannot look at Hall. He leads us to the register and continues to talk and talk and talk about all these items and how to and what not to do, etc. Do not judge me for what I laughed at next, but he for sure used the phrase "hard stool" what the crap, at that point I was done I had to hide behind some items and lost it completely. It was so great. We laughed so hard once we left. You might think the story stops there, but it only gets better. We went back to the church to drop her off and get my car. She is headed to the door and I am driving away. I notice she is talking to this kid, Nathan, on a rock ledge on the other side of my car. Background: his name is Nathan he is in middle school and we have to love them. Nathan is just trouble; he causes it, he gets into it, he is just a twirp to use my daddy's word. He hollers at her saying he had just met Bruce Bowen, of the San Antonio spurs, she is excited and tells him that is cool. I, trying to be the nice intern also ask him what happened, he tells me and I say that is awesome Nathan. Right then he looks at me and chunks a rock clear at my car, I am sitting in the driver's seat and he just throws it. I look at him and say, "don't" then look over at Hall and say, "Are you kidding me, he just threw a rock at my car." we both busted out laughing and I left. Wow, what a day. I love it here.

Bad News Bears

2005-11-15T09:23:00.000-08:00

Last night we had our first basketball practice. To catch you up, there is a church league here and 1st grade through adults can play. There are 26 teams and I am kind of the intramural director of Oak Hills. I have really enjoyed it, though it has had its low points; you know, parents complaining about their son not being with a certain friend or practice being too late or too early or my son broke his leg so he cannot play can we have a refund the list could go on forever. Those low points have really turned into high points. I have learned plenty and hope that continues. I have met so many people here at the church through this and am really finding joy through this experience. Enough background already. So, last night we had practice, if you can call it that. I am coaching 5th and 6th grade girls and helping with 7th and 8th grade girls. Now, cute is pretty much all the 5th and 6th graders have and believe me they are adorable. But, talk about your bad news bears. Think we might just have to go for fun instead of that stellar winning record. I will keep you updated as to how bad we lose once games begin.
Today begins a different day for me, I shall do something that I have spoken about for almost 4 years now. On many different occasions I have said, "I will do that tomorrow" For those of you that know me well, know what I am talking about. That is right, you guessed it, running. I will run today. I plan to run tues. through sat. and take sun. and mon. off. I might or might not keep you updated on that subject. Please pray that I do not die around 4:30 or 5:00 today. I will not mention that my plan was to get up early and start the day off with a good run.
Now, I leave you with this question: Where do the people that stand on the corner at the lights asking for money or work or whatever else, get those sharpies, they are always crisp and right out of the package?

2005-11-09T13:01:00.000-08:00

The latest and greatest news is that San Antonio finally got the bird. That is what the back of the shirts say that the workers are wearing at the new Freebirds. Pretty sure I gasped and put my head back on my seat when I looked over and saw that it had opened. Another favorite of my, which I have not had in a while, is Taco Bueno. Some say that Taco Cabana compare, here in San Antonio, but no way no how. Once you have had that sweet sweet satisfaction of bueno you never go elsewhere. I thought for about a second opening one up here, but pretty sure there can be too many mexican food restaurants in one place. We have it all here, including a los jalapenos, los palapas, la mamacitas, you put a as, or os ending on a word and it is a restaurant here in Santonio.
Last night was a fantastic night, I am not just talking about the nice weather. Sometimes we have that here believe it or not. I got to eat dinner and walk around this huge outlet mall in San Marcos, that has grown 4x the size since I last went. The purpose of this story is to say I got to do that with one of my favorite people in all the land, Jen Perkins or better known as Mija. It was a lovely evening, we met around 5:00 and walked around a bit and then went and ate at yet another favorite of mine, Chilis. I really love there chips and queso with ranch dressing, not a lot beats that. I just realized I have talked about food pretty much this entire blog. We laughed and talked and laughed some more, I love her laugh. It was a great evening with a great friend. I just love those friends that can sit and talk about nothing and everything at the same time. The kind that you can be absent from for a while and as soon as you see one another again it is as though time stood still and things never changed. We talked about old memories in the dorm and we talked about what happened yesterday. It was so awesome. Mija encourages me so much and she has helped me through many things in life and always will. I love that girl, she is one of those friends for life.
It is hard to stop writing, but I must. I really must before I bore you, the reader. I fixed the comments and now all are welcome to comment. I love this blog stuff. Love you guys.

There is a first time for everything...

2005-11-03T13:00:00.000-08:00

Well, I did it I joined the world of bloggers. After much consideration I decided it was time. Once I began creating my very first blogspot, which I love that they are called blogspots; priceless, I was hooked I loved every step, well the three steps it takes. I thought maybe I was going to join only to make comments, but you know me I have way too much to say to the world and had to post if I joined. Here is one thought, halloween is like the world's grub.