Day 11 - Trampoline!

Day 11 was a Monday again, so we were with our friend's kids all evening. Actually, our friend was in bed the whole time - she's got a kidney stone right now.

Ahead of time, I thought out a fun, creative, and meaningful project we could work on. I actually thought of three, but two ended up not being good for reasons beyond my control. And instead of doing the third idea, we played and put the net on the trampoline we assembled a little while back. I thought it was hard to motivate myself to do something creative instead of things that "need" (need without quotes would be things like eating dinner) to get done, but it turned out to be even harder to want to try to convince the kids of that. You heard right - I didn't even try to convince them, I psyched myself out! Don't worry, I'm already building myself up for next week - we WILL do something fun and creative together!

In my attempt to find something creative in relation to the trampoline (I've already got to make up day 6), I've decided to share this:
It's a thank-you note from the little girl for us helping put together the trampoline. I think she did a good job! I'm not sure how exactly all the words relate to the experience - especially "weird" and "mad" but it's a very cute card! As soon as I find our magnets (presumably still packed from our move), it's going on the fridge.

Day 13 - Music Webpage

I've already spent too much time on the computer tonight, but I just wanted to let you know that for my creative act of the day, I updated our music page on our website! Now you can listen to four songs we've recorded (I'm on two of them). It's all a cappella music. Let me know what you think about the player.
Go check it out and enjoy!

edit: Since I've been ignoring our website, several pages (particularly in the photos section) are not working properly. I'll let you know when I fix them!

Days 9-11 - a video for you!

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday Joe and I spent some time working on a short video. Since it's only one project I'm not sure if it really counts, but I did work on it some each day! The original idea was to make a series of videos on how to prepare for Halloween, but if I'm going to spend a decent amount of time on videos I'd rather do a bigger project we could share with more people.

I made this video in response to a few videos that have been emailed to me. I really, really don't like getting videos like this. So I made one that I can send to all those people who sent me one. I'm not being mean - really! They wouldn't have forwarded it to me unless they actually liked getting it themselves, right? So I'm sure they'll enjoy this video.



Just in case you don't know what videos I'm referring to, you can check out this one or this one.

Oh, and the song you hear a clip of is one I wrote a few years ago when playing with Finale - Joe's music composition software. It's just for fun. It's called Cane-Free and it's about an old man who just recently was able to walk without a cane once again.

And if you're my friend, don't trick me with one of these videos! ;)

Morchat Wedding!

Saturday night was the Morchat wedding. It was very beautiful, and best of all, Danny and Jordan are now married! I don't have any great pictures, but here are a few...

Danny and Jordan getting married! The wedding was outdoors, and they seemed to have found the one place in Texas where the colors actually change before the leaves fall off the trees. There's also a river in the background.a few of us ComChurchers who happened to be leaving at the same time
my friend Jenny visiting from Tennessee (Danny was their housemate last year)
Sam - I've never seen a 21 month-old be such a perfect ring bearer!

Day 8 - Dressing for a Wedding

Thursday was Day 8. Because it had been raining for two days, Joe's soccer game was canceled. That meant a welcome extra night for us! Our friends Jordan and Danny are getting married Saturday, so we had to figure out what to wear. I think weddings are one of the hardest events to dress for, and I'm quite sure I'm not good at it.
There are many qualities that wedding guest attire should have, for example:
(1) modest - something of which the grandparents there will approve
(2) stylish / edgy - to look nicer than normal, not to mention the many pictures that will be taken
(3) not all white - duh, it's the bride's color!
(4) (this is my personal one) not all black - too much like mourning

Now, #1 and #2 often are directly conflicting. As Joe and I looked through the closet, I decided this outfit has a delicate balance of modesty and edginess. ;)

Yes, those are fishnet hose in case you didn't notice. So, looking in the closest and making crazy wedding outfits was my creative thing for Thursday!

Day 7 - song

I'll have to make up Tuesday (Day 6) later!

Excuses for the past two days of lesser creativity / what we've been up to: (skip this is you're the hates-excuses type) Monday I went from work to home and started cooking immediately and from before we were done cooking until after 9, Joe and I were playing with / watching / helping (I don't know what to call it), some kids who live 5 houses down the street (and whose mom we're in small group with at church). I know mothers do stuff like this every day and probably work in creative time, but I'm not a mother yet and don't know how to do that. Tuesday we have small group for church, so the day went work, fix dinner, comgroup (community groups is what we call them). Today (Wednesday), I got a call saying I could get my fillings done this afternoon (yes, I've got cavities), so right now my jaw is killing me. I had a cavity under an old filling that was on top of and between two molars. I've learned to close my eyes when they insert those things to wedge your teeth apart. But at least Joe and I didn't have anything going on tonight! We watched some of the last presidential debates, as well as tonight's episode of Pushing Daisies (the show I recently wrote about). I enjoyed Pushing Daisies more.

On to the creative part...

I've been working on a song for a while. Sometimes I can write something very quickly, but each part of this song rolls around in my head for a while before I actually get anything down on paper, then I change that at least a dozen times before I'm semi-happy with it. Keeping that in mind, I started the final verse. For this song I've been writing what I want to say, and worrying about the exact words (to fit meter and rhyme) later, so what I wrote tonight is just me getting started figuring out what I want to say.

The song is mostly based on Psalm 107:4-32. I suggest reading it. To me, this psalm expresses different situations in which people turn to the Lord, and for me is a reminder of how He rescues us (me) and how He loves us (me). I'll write out three verses I'm fairly happy with, then share what I wrote tonight as a start to the last verse.

I wandered, but I found no home,
Nor road to show the way.
Thirst and hunger with me roamed,
And I lost count of days.
Then I cried, "My Lord!" in my desp'rateness
And God delivered me from my distress
He led me home without delay;
He fed my soul a feast each day.

Encompassed by the deepest gloom,
My hands and feet were bound.
I came this way, past signs of doom,
In loneliness I drowned
Then I cried, "My Lord!" in my desp'rateness
And God delivered me from my distress
He cast the shadow from my midst;
He burst the chain that bound my wrists.

I turned a fool who welcomed sin,
And fed only on its lies.
I loathed good food, and so grew thin,
Devoured by my guest.
Then I cried, "My Lord!" in my desp'rateness
And God delivered me from my distress.
He gave healing and direction;
He freed me from self-distruction.

The final part (verses 23-32) tells about sailors who witness the Lord's "wondrous works." What it seems like to me is that the men are doing their job when God (it's VERY specific that God commanded the wind) brought a storm to them that brought them to their "wits' end." Then they cry out, and God stills the storm. And then it says "Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of men!" Really? Oh, yeah - thanks God for that storm that cost us days at sea and nearly killed us, thanks! I don't feel THAT strongly, but still it's hard for me to grasp. In recent days, I've been thinking about and pryaing a lot for my friends who just lost their baby girl. You can tell by what they wrote about it, that through this storm, they better know and recognize God's steadfast love. I've been focusing on that more as I try to wrap my heart around these verses.

The third verse was also initially difficult for me to connect with, but it finally clicked and resonated with me deep down, like the first two did without hesistation. I also had to use "us" or "some" instead of "me" when originally writing that verse, so I'm starting out that way here. I also think that it was a bunch of sailors on that boat, not just one, so maybe us would work. But I think you could argue that for the first verse, too. Without further ado, my first crack at trying to grasp this verse:

We were going about our daily work
When God called upon us a storm
So strong his winds and harsh his rains,
forget life as normal - we couldn't even walk straight
Then we cried "My Lord!" in our desp'rateness
And God delivered us from our distress
He stilled the storm and we rejoiced for the quiet / boring
He revealed to us that day his steadfast love

The final version will look little like that - but I've got to start somewhere! I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on what those verses mean to you. Also, feel free to comment on the other three parts - I'm not completely settled on them. Thanks! I plan for more to the song, but these verses will be the main part.

Day 5 - Image in my head

For some reason, I had an image in my head most of the day Monday. My mom's and grammy's abilities to draw were apparently not dominant genetic traits, but I couldn't think of some better creative thing to do with little time, so here's my stick-figure version:
It's a person in a pit whose muscles have been torn from their bones, making them unable to move and just lying in a heap. Someday I'd like to just have an image of happy butterflies stuck in my head, but I get what I get. All day I kept thinking about how God is the only one who can make that lump move again - and He can restore perfect agility! I'm glad about that.

Okay, psycho-analyze away! ;)

Creativity - Day 4 and our piano!

(I haven't had much time at the computer for a few days, so I'm still catching up posting for the weekend... I wrote this on Sunday night.)

I practiced piano for 45 minutes tonight! The piano made it here safely from Dallas on Friday afternoon (thanks mom & dad for arranging AND paying for all of that!!!), and Joe and I are very excited.


I just played scales for the first 15 minutes... there's something peaceful to me about repeating something simple over and over, with it sounding better and better each time. Peaceful to me, but often extremely annoying to anyone who might have no choice but to listen. Joe had to finish some stuff at work tonight, so I didn't have to worry about that, though! I had intended to play for only 30 minutes, but I was having a good time and my fingers never started to hurt, so I just kept it up. I played some songs I used to know, figuring out the parts I'd forgotten. It was fun! Even though the piano does need tuned (we have to wait to do that until it's had plenty of time to acclimate to the new environment), it doesn't sound too bad to bother me. Woo hoo piano!

(It's also neat that our gold walls really bring out the yellow hints in the walnut piano to make it look like it's glowing gold - so pretty! It never looked like that in it's other homes.)

Creativity - Day 3 and the out of doors

Saturday was Day 3! My parents were in town helping work on our house. The big project was replacing the kitchen sink, installing a new faucet, and adding a garbage disposal. Since there was not electricity near the sink, the disposal was actually a big project. So we decided to go this route with an alternative, more green disposal:


Thanks, mom! Okay, so the sink and everything did get finished, and I'll post those on the home and garden blog eventually.

I've had a banana tree for a about a month that needs to be planted, so Joe helped dig a hole in the back yard for it. Since we had good grass where the tree was going and an ugly bald spot elsewhere, we decided to transplant the grass. Joe says that gardening should count as being creative, but in case it doesn't, I'll record a conversation between the front yards.


(warning: this isn't actually funny. In the same way that something doesn't have to be good to be art, this is only me trying to be creative in different ways, not necessarily enjoyable by others. It was actually fun to write something and not really care if it's funny or logical... it felt a little like brainstorming. If it helps, you can pretend a second grader is writing this.)

Across the Street: (whispering) Hey, neighbor. Did you see what the other corner had done?
Neighbor: Haha! I can't believe he did it! And does he really think that we won't notice the bald spot in the back now?!? (shouting) Hey, corner!
Corner (our yard): What's happenin' neighbor?
Neighbor: Oh, just enjoying a nice cool day. Anything new (snicker) with you?
Corner: Not really, just trying to soak up the sun and keep up my youthful appearance.
Across the Street: Youthful appearance, huh? Do you make a lot of efforts towards that cause?
Corner: I just try to stay healthy, and the rest comes naturally.
(Neighbor snort-laughs)
Across the Street: Naturally? So you, um, haven't had any work done then?
Corner: Nope, I just let my keepers trim a little off the top occasionally. Maybe rake a little sometimes - like earlier today.
Neighbor: You want us to believe that dark green is your natural color?
Corner: Mostly, though I am going brown in a few spots. Why?
Across the Street: You've had plugs put in, and we can clearly see them - don't try to pass it off as natural.
Corner: What?!? I would never - ... Wait, what is that spot? And that one? I dosed off earlier while getting a nice raking - what did they do to me?!?
Neighbor: You hadn't noticed?
Corner: (sniffling) I had always hoped to go brown with dignity.

Sorry, yard. You'll look better soon. Hopefully.

Creativity Day 2 - Makeup!

Well, Friday was a bit hard to fit in some creativity. I had to take a little time off work to help the piano mover get the piano inside (you'll see a post about that later!), and then my parents came in town and were here in time to pick me up from work. We did some stuff at our house and then helped a neighbor & her kids put up a trampoline (a big task). After that we saw Get Smart on campus. Joe, my dad and I actually saw it in theaters a while back, but it's fun to watch it with students and we liked it the first time. My mom even admitted to some funny moments. We got out of the movie in time to see the band go by for midnight yell - meaning we got home VERY late.

So I'm making up my Day 2 and I've decided to write! I'll record some random things about myself (I know you're so excited) - things I think I'll forget and find interesting later on. I think a good way of doing this will be by talking about a tv show on ABC that I really like right now and why.

The show is Pushing Daisies. It's real actors, but has some sort of fantasy feel to it (bright colors, some over-the-top characters, a narrator). {You can skip the rest of this paragraph if you want - it's just some background on the show.} One of the actors happens to be Kristen Chenoweth, my favorite Broadway singer. The basic premise is that one man, Ned, has the ability to touch a dead person / animal and bring them back to life. If he ever touches it again, it will go back to death and he can't bring it back. If he keeps something dead alive for more than one minute, something else nearby dies. Ned is a pie maker who has brought back his childhood sweetheart after she was murdered. They both work with a Private Investigator to solve murders - mostly by asking the dead guy who killed him. Olive (Kristen C.) is in love with Ned (and was before the childhood sweetheart became a part of their lives), but she doesn't know his secret ability, and Ned doesn't know she's in love with him. Okay, so now you know what the show is about. Now, how it relates to me!

My favorite part is that in three of the eleven episodes that have been aired, there are songs! Each has struck a chord with me, and I'll tell you why.

I love how Olive randomly sings. I do this, too, when people aren't close enough to hear me. Several times I've been singing in the car when my cell phone rings, and I automatically hit the button to turn off the stereo, only to realize the stereo was off and the backup music was in my head. Really, I can't count how many times I've done that. So, you can tell how I can relate to this scene:

(yikes, one of the videos it gives you as a choice to watch next has a surprising title - it's really not about that - watch it if you don't believe me!)
Another song is Birdhouse in Your Soul by They Might Be Giants (TMBG). In case you didn't know, Joe and I met at a church camp called Pettijohn in Oklahoma. At this camp, I also met Jennifer (my roommate and friend in college) and Wes (already a friend of Joe's - he was in our wedding). We still keep in touch with those two, but I also met Timothy Spain, who I haven't stayed in touch with. (Tim, if you googled your name and found this - tell me!) Timothy introduced me to TMBG and I thought it was great. He was right - it's great music to play while playing spades, something I loved to do. One of their more well-known songs is Birdhouse in Your Soul, and somehow the writers worked it into an episode quite appropriately. No, the situation in the scene below is not as weird as it looks - it's weirder.



Finally, since marrying into a Scottish name, I've become more interested in all things Scottish. To be honest, I can't always tell the different between Scottish and Irish things (I know, that's horrible), but I enjoy them both. Even before Joe, I've loved pretty much any song in 6/8, so Scottish music is mostly beautiful to me. Joe and I bought a tape (those things they used to make before CDs. CDs? You remember - that's what we used before iPods) for $1 at a truck stop, expecting top-notch quality. It was a Scottish Christmas album. Since we like both types of music, it held some promise. After listening to it, we decided that some guy with some recording equipment said "My Scottish uncle is coming in town, and I think I know someone who owns some bagpipes, I should spend the weekend making an album with them!" The one beautiful exception is a song sung by the "uncle" called Morning has Broken / Child in a Manger. I looked it up, and apparently Cat Stevens recorded Morning has Broken and made it famous. Our tape has some of it in Gaelic, and well as this verse "Child in a Manger, Infant of Mary / Outcast and stranger, Lord of All / Child who inherits all our transgressions / All our demerits on his fall." Between the tune, the lyrics, and an old Scottish man's voice, I love that version of the song! So that's what I'm reminded of during this scene:


I think I'd like Pushing Daisies without these songs, but they are what brought back happy memories. Anyone else watch this show? You should! You can even rent the first two DVDs of season one and watch the other 5 episodes so far online (abc.com). They should be paying me for this. ;)

Day One of Creativity

Today went very quickly, with no time until late tonight to do "creative" activities between loads of laundry. Some other days I will have more time, but tonight Joe and I added furniture to our living room and rearranged it all! We also realized that some of the colors in our last place aren't going to work as well as we thought with the new paint and floor, but here's what we settled on:
I didn't think to take a before shot, but all the red / gold pieces are new (to us) and there was a black futon in the room. This may be the first some of you have seen of the floor and paint - I hope you like it!

Tomorrow we're getting my baby-grand piano! My parents bought it for me when I was two, and now that we own a home they're moving it down here! Joe and I are both very excited. My parents are also coming down themselves, which will also be nice (maybe we can get our non-leaking faucet installed.... ;) ).

30 Days of Creativity

In true friend of a friend of a friend fashion, I started reading a professional photographer's blog last fall. Yesterday, she offered this challenge and I accepted.

Basically, I need to do something creative every day for the next thirty days (starting today)! Joe and I have talked about how we both have this need to do creative things, but when we get busy it gets pushed aside. Even though we'll be traveling a lot and I've got a lot of things on my plate for the next month, I think life will often be like this. So fitting in creativity will be good practice.

I'd love to have more friends doing this with me, so let me know if you plan to do it (or a modified version)! It can be simple, too. Some examples Shauna gives range from "try a new recipe" to "re-create an outfit you find in a magazine with your own clothes" to "design a tattoo (you don't ever have to get it)." What neat ideas!

I have tons of ideas for creative projects, and I can rather obsess over them. It's common for Joe and I to be talking and then all of a sudden I say "we could use that green paint from the back room for the painting." And then Joe laughs. It's like there's some small part of my brain that spends all waking and sleeping hours thinking about creative projects. The more I ignore it or push it away, the more it jumps out at random times.

Somewhat random aside: For the past couple of years we've had a garden, but since we just bought a home that needs a lot of work inside, I don't have one right now. One fun thing with a garden was trying to come up with new ways to use some of the food. Who knows how many mint recipes I've looked at! I'm a little sad that I won't get to work in any creativity with our garden food.

I'm going to write down some ideas that I may like to attempt during this next 30 days, mostly as a reference for me. I'll probably add to the list later as I think of things. Also, I'll try to post what my daily projects are / were.

Creative ideas:
1. Put together some of my holiday recipes in some cute way. I've started to really like being a main cook for Thanksgiving or Christmas meals. Last year I feel like I got the timing down pretty well, and was happy with the old and new recipes. I've also been creating some of my own desserts that I should write down recipes for before I forget!
2. Make a surprise gift. (I have a very specific thing in mind, but if I write on here it will no longer be a surprise!)
3. A "Be Thou My Vision" art project that's been floating around in my head a few weeks.
4. Play our piano (if we get it this weekend) for thirty minutes (for the first time in YEARS).
5. Try a new DINNER recipe (baking dessert doesn't count).
6. Decorate our refrigerator (put pictures on it).
7. Record a song with Joe (or at least start).
8. Write a last verse (can just be a draft) for a song I've been working a while.

Wow... 30 days is a long time! Any more suggestions for creative things to do?

my first project after graduation

First, a big congratulations to Nobel Prize in Chemistry winners: Osamu Shimomura, Martin Chalfie, and Roger Y. Tsien ( who contributed to the isolation of Green Fluorescent Protein and found ways to use it as a genetic marker)!

My first project once working full time in a lab was modifying a gene (to put in a mouse) so that all cholinergic cells would glow green. Our lab was interested in cholinergic neurons, specifically in the basal forebrain, because a loss of these neurons is exhibited in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Instead of running experiments on cells and later (using RT-PCR) finding out for sure if it was the right cell (and if that data is useful for this purpose), we could use a fluorescent scope and visually select the glowing cholinergic cells.

Given that, it was a surprise to see this as the second sentence in a New York Times article featuring the Nobel Prize in Chemistry winners:

"The fluorescent proteins are now routinely used for observing the growth and fate of specific cells like nerve cells damaged during Alzheimer’s."

If you need a good laugh

You should go check out this blog. You don't have to be a cake decorator (you can even hate cakes of all kinds) to enjoy the posts. You should start by checking out some of the "Fan Favorites" on the right hand side. Let me tell you, I've needed a good laugh the last couple of days and this has been great. :)

random M&M game

In case you have to urge to laugh or feel weirded out, I suggest checking this out. Get a picture of yourself NOT showing teeth ready.

Here's Joe as Mad-eye Moody (for all of you getting your Harry Potter costumes ready!):

further back: before Ike

I just realized that it had been even longer than I thought since I'd shared an update. Here's some more...

August 21st-24th: Church Camp. I wrote some about this, and still do hope to write some more!

August 26th: Out of the Silent Planet. I facilitated a ladies book club meeting on C.S. Lewis' Out of the Silent Planet. I posted with some thoughts we didn't have time to discuss. I recommend it, even though it moves fairly slow at the beginning. The other two books in the trilogy are even better (the last one's my favorite - a very different page-turner), but you should read this one first.

August 29th-31st: House, Reception, Houston. My parents come down and help work on the house some Friday night and Saturday during the day. This is went the refrigerator / water saga began, for those of you keeping track. Saturday early evening we drove down to my cousin's wedding reception (they got married in Las Vegas) in Industry, TX. After it was over, we drove back to College Station (over an hour), met up with a couple of friends, and drove down to Houston. It was a very late night! A bunch of friends were visiting some friends that moved down there several months ago. Sunday morning we went to a church where some (apparently) famous worship leader was coming. It was sort of a concert, sort of him leading worship (from my perspective) - all songs he had written. The musicians were very talented. He also preached, and I thought all he had to say was good and thought-provoking - even more so than his songs. We returned to College Station barely in time to help "host" our church (we set up, clean up, and run nursery).

September 6th-7th: Houston and Back Again! After a shower for a beautiful bride-to-be, Joe and I went to Houston for his sister's housewarming party. She bought a house at the same time we did, but hers was completely new and finished. We had seen it once before she moved in, but it looked even better all decorated. We got to see some of Joe's extended family, many of whom we haven't seen since the spring. Sunday we headed back to College Station. Joe helped move around the stuff in a guest bedroom so that I could get to the computer and then rushed to pack and leave for Dallas (he was taking the laptop).

September 7th-10th: Joe's gone! He went to a SQL Server training in Dallas. Sunday night he got to meet with ComChurch Irving and stay the night with our friends there. Monday night he met up with two ComChurch Irving guys and ate at a place he says was delicious called "Babe's Chicken." In the evenings (I still had to go to work during the day), I worked on the house. I painted the bathroom and made / put up some curtains and stuff to make that room look nicer. Monday night some friends from a few houses down (9 and 10 years old) wanted to come help. I don't know if you've ever painted with kids that age, but it's definitely an adventure! They had fun, and I'm really glad they came over. Tuesday night some people from our future-small group met in a park for a while. After I got home from that I finished cutting in and did a second coat of paint. You'd think it'd get easier, but Tuesday night was the hardest to go to sleep without Joe. I really missed him! I think I did a bit more organizing and cleaning up Wednesday night, and Joe got home to see his surprise (that bathroom) around 9:00. He liked it!

Thursday during the day is when Joe's family came up because of the mandatory evacuation for Hurricane Ike, and now I'm caught up!

What's been happening: Family, Hurricane, House

Well, I haven't been any better about blogging. I still haven't finished that book I was supposed to weeks ago, despite reading some almost every day. But if I keep waiting it will be forever until I update.

I do have pictures (especially of the work on the house), but those are on another computer.

Here's how September went:
September 11th-15th: Family and Ike. Joe's parents and sister were staying with us, riding out Hurricane Ike. Though they both lost trees and power, no damage was done to their homes. Emily had power back on Monday, so his parents went there every night to sleep (with an A/C) and finally got power back on the 21st. Since it turned out not to hit us as a category one hurricane as predicted, we only lost limbs (tree limbs). This was the first time Joe's family had seen our house!

September 16th: ComGroup. Our new small group for church started! We're excited about this new year and our new small group that meets every week.

September 19th-21st: Family and Schlitterbahn. Joe and I went to San Antonio to visit Lauren and Kevin (my sister & her hubby). My parents gave us two free tickets to Schlitterbahn at Galveston, but it was closed (due to Hurricane Ike damage), so they accepted them at the original Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels. Kevin had to work, so we planned to just buy one ticket and the three of us go. Saturday morning, while standing around in our swimsuits and making sure we had everything we needed, I realized I hadn't brought the tickets. Not only had we left them at home, but NOT ONCE did it cross our minds to bring them with us. So, we got on craigslist and found someone who wanted $15 a piece for their tickets ($37.99 at the gate) that expired that day. Joe called and offered them $20 for all three and they accepted! (They had won the tickets, not paid for them, so I don't feel bad about getting them for less. Plus the teenage girl who we picked them up from looked like she was wearing only a small towel.) So we had fun at the water park for less than the amount had we just bought one ticket at the gate. We arrived around 11:30 and were all worn out by 5:00. Not too worn out to stop by the outlet malls in San Marcos, however! Joe and I both got some shoes that we really like. And as much as I'd love to hate Victoria's Secret, I really like the outlet there - some of the most comfortable bras for $9.99! Plus sports bras for $3.99 - the crappy WalMart ones cost more than that! Poor Lauren put up with me in there for a very long time. That night, Kevin had to close (he's an assistant manager at Toys R Us), and was stuck with only two people to help him. I crashed at Lauren's place, but Lauren and Joe went up and help clean the store. Close was at 10:00pm and they got home at 2:30am. This is a very common thing for Kevin - he's on salary (no overtime) and works all the time and is given almost no one to help. Since my sister works 7-4, they don't get to spend much time together. You can all pray that the situation drastically changes, or he finds a new job (and time to apply for them!). We were glad for the short amount of time we got to spend with L & K, and they have a really cute apartment down there. We hadn't seen them since July 4th and hadn't seen their place since we helped them move in (mid-March). I wish they still lived in College Station!

September 21st-27th: Family and the House. My mom came down all of last week to work on our house! She got almost all of the flooring done in the living and dining rooms! We also got bathroom fixtures (like a toilet paper holder) put up in one bathroom. My aunt and grandmother (mom's mom) also came over from Conroe for Thursday and Friday. They helped put outlet covers on and redo the connection of the water line to the fridge (another long story). Aunt Sarah and Nanny had not yet seen the house, so that was fun. Friday / Saturday my mom also got doors on our closet and the overhead light / fan working in our bedroom. For a while we've only had lamps and a closet light in there! Hopefully we didn't wear my mom out too much - thank you for working so hard and getting so much done! We love the floors!

September 27th: Joe and the Conflab. Joe periodically gets together with some men from the types of churches he grew up in (non-class Church of Christ) to discuss certain pre-determined topics. They call it a Conflab. To my understanding, a confab is like a conference or discussion, and since many of them are older and somewhat overwieght they mix confab with flab to get Conflab. Anyways, the topic this time was mutual edification. In their context, this means there are not hired ministers / pastors, instead "everyone" (for them, the baptised men or boys) take turns leading things on Sundays / Wednesdays (song leading, preaching, leading prayers, serving communion). They met in Nacogdoches, so Joe drove over there and was gone until after 10:00 Saturday night. If you want to know more about it, ask Joe!

There's a couple of other things we've done, but those are the big ones!

Dresses. My mom brought down my wedding dress, along with some of my sister's and my formals. (I talked about this before, in case you're confused.) The wedding dress zipped up almost halfway, but is not very close to fitting. It certainly won't fit tomorrow night, but that's not a surprise. There was one formal that looks like a bridesmaid dress (I think it actually was, that's why I got such a good price on it back then) that I can wear. (whew!) We've been better about jogging, though not as good as we could be. It's really hard with so many things that you feel like you're supposed to be doing! This is definitely a "there needs to be more hours in the day" time of life.

And something to look forward to:
October 3rd-5th: My good friend / roommate in college, Jennifer, and her family are coming to stay with us this weekend! We don't have plans figured out yet, but I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully our place will be safe enough for her two kids (4 years and less than 2 years old)!

Out of the Silent Planet

C.S. Lewis' Out of the Silent Planet. These are a few topics I found interesting that we didn't have time to discuss at a ladies book club. Several of us had different versions of the book, but the pages seemed very close (even hardcover). I figured I'd post them here just in case anyone reads the book and wanted to add some comments about some of this.

Pleasure - Chapter 12
Chapter 12 is probably the one that has stuck with me the most since reading the book a few years ago. Here's how part of it goes:
"But the pleasure he must be content only to remember?"
"That is like saying 'My food I must be content to eat.' "
"I do not understand."
"A pleasure is full grown only when it is remembered. You are speaking, Hman, as if the pleasure were one thing and the memory another. It is all one thing.... When you and I met, the meeting was over very shortly, it was nothing. Now it is growing something as we remember it. But still we know very little about it. What it will be when I remember it as I lie down to die, what it makes in me all my days till then - that is the real meeting. The other is only the beginning of it."
and later...
"And how could we endure to live and let time pass if we were always crying for one day or one year to come back - if we did not know that every day in a life fills the whole life with expectation and memory and that these are that day?"

Danger - Also, later in the same chapter (page 76): If response to Ransom questioning him about the hnakra, Hyoi says "I do not think the forest would be so bright, nor the water so warm, nor love so sweet, if there were no danger in the lakes."

Unity - On pages 81-82, after killing the hnakra: "They had stood shoulder to shoulder in the face of an enemy, and the shapes of their heads no longer mattered." I just think there's something interesting here about the unity found from fighting a common enemy.

Ruling ourselves - On page 102, Ransom talking with the learned sorns: "They cannot help it. There must be rule, yet how can creatures rule themselves? Beasts must be ruled by hnau and hnau by eldila and eldila by Maleldil. These creatures have no eldila. They are like one trying to lift himself by his own hair - or one trying to see over a whole country when he is level with it - like a female trying to beget young on herself." Later Oyarsa established that there were eldila on earth, but without the acknowledgment they have on Malacandra.