New Logo

Our church is going to be putting an emphasis on service this fall; we have several projects and trips going on that are related to service. To help spread the word and get people involved, the Design Team (of which I'm a part, and Margie is, too--Hi Margie!!) was charged with making a logo. The theme is "FallOut'07--This fall, we're reaching out."

Logo ideas don't always come very easily to me, but this one did. So, I worked it up in Illustrator and sent it on. Surprisingly, there were no edits to the logo I'd sent around, and everyone seemed to like it. So, my logo will be on all the stuff for this fall's emphasis! Crazy!

Leanna's Hair color

I'm a visual person (and like to mess with Photoshop), so here's the visuals of Leanna's color possibilities. Let her know which one you like best by posting on her blog or right here! Oh, and I picked these colors, not her, so she may like a variant of each of these, but it will give people an idea, anyway. I had the hardest time with the red/strawberry blonde. The others blended pretty well.

Here's Leanna natural (with her great new haircut!):

And here are other options:
Bleach Blonde:


Blonde:


Brunette:


Dark Brunette:


Red:


Strawberry Blonde:

Welcome to the Blogger World

Everyone give a friendly hello to my friend and roomie Hillary! She's joined the Blogger ranks so we can keep up with her in her travels, newly-wed life, and whatever else she feels like talking about. She's lucky I'm not on my home computer; otherwise I could dig up some funny photos to add to this post....

Scammed

Alternate Titles:
Ticked off
Letdown of the day
Lydia is Mean to Pseudo-Manager Peter
If it seems too good to be true...

So I've been saving money for a digital SLR camera. I like doing research, and I was looking around today and came across two websites that sell the camera I've been looking at for a really great price. I was really excited, and couldn't believe the price. I called both companies and asked them what was included in the cost. They both said "the camera body only." Okay, that's fine, and that must be why the price is so low. So, I checked around on eBay and found the battery and other things that weren't included for pretty good prices, and decided this would be a good way to go. So, I picked one of the sites and placed my order.

Twenty minutes later, I got an e-mail telling me to call the company and speak to Peter regarding my order. I call, get Peter, and he just needs the security code on the back of my credit card. (Odd, why didn't they ask me for that in the form I had to fill out?) I give him the code, and he says, "By the way, I'm wondering why you got the body only instead of the package?" I explain I was going to get the battery and other items cheaper elsewhere, because I knew they didn't have to be Canon brand.

He says, "You can't beat the prices we have, and you have to buy Canon brand to get the chip that translates the menus from Chinese to English."

ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!

"My camera is in Chinese??" I ask him.

"Yeah, for a price like that....the USA package is $400 more. You have to make sure it says USA next to it on the website."

"Why would I assume it wasn't English?"

"Well, the price...."

"I'd like to cancel my order."

"Sure, I'll cancel it for you. That'll be a 7% restocking fee."

"But I just made the order 20 minutes ago."

"I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do. That's our policy."

So, I hang up, on the verge of tears because I'm so disappointed. And ticked off. I go to the website to find the fabled USA label. I look on the camera I ordered, and there was nothing there to say it was in Chinese, not even an option to buy the USA package. (There was an option to "See Similar Packages" which I had clicked on before ordering, and it just took me to more Chinese cameras.) I do another search for the camera, trying to find any of them that said they were in English. Nothing. It's dawning on me that this whole thing (the suspicious call for my security number...) is a scam to make a quick $20 off people looking for a deal.

Meanwhile, Holly got online, so I told her what happened. Being a much more assertive person that I am, she insisted I needed to call them back and demand they take the restocking fee off my card. So, for the first time in my life, I called to complain. I called Peter back, and asked to speak to the manager. He very quickly told me he was a manager. I know from speaking to friends of mine that everyone says they're a manager, but what could I do?

Long story short, I explained to Peter the Pseudo-Manager in no uncertain terms that I thought they were pulling a scam and I refused to pay the restocking fee. He explained to me that I was being very unreasonable, was choosing to see the situation from a glass-half-empty perspective, and that he was simply offering a great deal on a camera.

Yeah, a Chinese camera! How am I supposed to even find the English cameras? Well, it turns out, you have to enter USA into the search bar. Seriously.

I again said, that's all well and good, but I'm not paying the restocking fee. I didn't care that there was a policy about cancellation, because the company had already broken their side of any agreement by not fully disclosing the details of their products.

He put me on hold.

Two minutes later, he picks back up and says, "Is there anything else I can do for you?" in a too-sweet voice. I ask him if he took off the fee, and he said, no, that was policy, and he couldn't take it off. After a few minutes more of conversation, he hangs up on me, refusing to transfer me to a manager or anyone else. "Call back tomorrow" he says.

Argh.

I go back to Holly, my online coach, who says, "Call back! Don't talk to him, but ask to speak to a manager."

So I do. I get transferred to JJ. I tell him the situation, and he puts me on hold. I can feel my blood pressure start to rise in readiness for the second uncomfortable call of the day. He gets back on and says, "Okay, there's no charge."

"What? I don't have to pay the fee?"

"No." (They don't teach manners, evidently. "No ma'am, sorry for the inconvenience...")

"Okay, thank you." and that was it.

But be sure I'll be checking my bank account the next few days to make sure I don't get charged.

I realize that the "too good to be true" price should have been a warning sign for me, but I also did my research (as best I could), and two sites with similar pricing helped me think it was legit. Phonecalls to both prior to ordering would have been a good time for someone to tell me what I was really looking at, as well.

Also, even after knowing the camera was in Chinese, I couldn't find a single mention of it, or an extra acronym tagged onto the product number, or anything that could suggest I was buying something other than an English-language camera.

Seriously, even their name is deceiving: USA Photo Nation! What a scam.

New Things (Random Post)

Last week, I got the latest and greatest design tool, Adobe CS3, which has everything I'll ever need...at least until the next upgrade. I put it on my computer yesterday, but I can't bring myself to uninstall the CS2 programs. For some reason I'm afraid CS3 will be full of bugs or something. CS3 includes Dreamweaver, the gold standard of web developing programs. Dreamweaver used to be owned by Macromedia, which Adobe bought last year. So now Adobe has Dreamweaver. Adobe's web program, GoLive, is no longer available. GoLive is what I learned and used for my own website and anything I've done so far on the work website. I'm not very good at web stuff in the first place, and the learning curve just got a whole lot steeper! I'm going to have to find a Dreamweaver class pretty soon, or I'll be lost.


This past weekend, I got to play with my mom's new iPhone. It's pretty neat! Some people bristle at all the hype, but you gotta admit, it's a well-thought-out phone. Things like seeing all your voice messages, and being able to pick which one to listen to (and fast forward and rewind) is brilliant. Also, simple changes like having a button on the phone to record your voice mail greeting solve the pain-in-the-neck problem of punching through options to finally get to record what you want. ("Press 1 if you would like to....") And then, beyond the phone functionality, the rest is pretty cool, too: iPod (of course), camera, widgets, internet. Everything carries the signature simple brilliance of Apple design. I only had a couple of problems: 1) you can't pick a song on your iPod for a phone ringtone. What's up with that?? and 2) there was one design element I thought should have been different, and I was really surprised it looked the way it did.

Last night we had some friends over for burgers, so we bought some flowers for the occasion. This huge vaseful of flowers was only $4.50! And I set some aside for the table arrangement:


Along with burgers, we served Caramel Frappuccinos, a new concoction Jon put together. We froze coffee in ice cubes, then added about a pint of cream (yep, whole whipping cream...yum...), and some caramel in the blender with the coffee ice. Top with with RediWhip, and you've got a good thing going!

We had some cream left over, so I did something I've wanted to do for a long time...made butter! Do you remember making butter in class? I was in 1st grade maybe, and I remember passing a jar filled with cream along the rows of desks. We each got to shake the jar a few times, and then we had to pass it. That was so fun! So, I made butter last night, and used it on my waffles this morning. :)

I found that the best way to shake cream to make butter is while playing Dance Dance Revolution!! Yep, Jon got the XBox fixed that Cliff gave him, and we headed to GameStop yesterday for some used games. I came home with DDR, something called Corvette (how could I pass it up??), and a racing game. Since the controllers are still in the mail, we couldn't play anything but DDR, since it uses a separate dance pad as a controller. I totally stunk it up, but it's still fun. And it passed the 20 minutes of shake time I had for making butter!

In other news, I have my curtains up! Leanna and I have hemmed two of the panels, but the two shown here aren't hemmed, yet. I love the new colors in the house! I've also added a new welcome mat in the entryway, which Friday promptly claimed as his own:

So, that's pretty much a recap of what's happened lately. It's been a busy week! But I'm so thankful for the blessing I have: a good job, family, friends, and a home that makes me happy.

Doodle of the Day

My cutie kitty

Today is a blah day, as Karen said on her blog. Well, few things cure the blah day blues like kitties! So, just in case you don't have one of your own, I'm sharing mine:





Of course, there's always one thing that's guaranteed to make me laugh. Jon doesn't understand, but it cracks me up. Here it is:



And in case you missed that last one, or wanted to see the poor guy getting chewed out (Long Johnson, maybe?):



"Why, I eyes ya."

Hahahaha! *Sniff...Sigh.... Ah, I feel better already. :) Hope you do, too!

Movie Reviews

Ratatouille: The animation on this is amazing. Challenges such as furry animals, tons of water in all forms (including steam), a ragdoll character, and food were created to perfection. The film was beautiful; every scene was fun to look at. The rats, when in droves, could be a little disturbing, but for the most part they were harmless. The story was pretty good, but I didn't have a stand-up-on-your-seat-"hooray!" moment. I could see where it should have happened, but it didn't. It felt rushed to get to that moment, so when it happened, I wasn't really ready for it. At the end of the movie, I was glad to have seen it, but it wasn't the "oh, man, that was a great movie!" like at the end of Monsters, Inc for example. The spectacular animation is worth watching, though, so I would recommend it.

The Holiday: This movie was fairly straightforward, but I was pleasantly surprised at the complications that were introduced. It wasn't just rebound girl-meets-boy, but dealing with issues of self-worth and family. One couple's relationship starts in bed, and stays that way most of the movie, but I was glad to see that the other couple never sleeps together, and Kate Winslet's character is a really good character. She does an excellent acting job, and the character is realistic, with goodwill toward others. Her soft spot for her senior adult neighbor made me happy. Jack Black is still pretty over the top, lacking the subtlety that makes great actors. And Cameron Diaz isn't a favorite of mine, either, but she does an acceptable job. Kate Winslet and Jude Law carry the film. Overall, it's a good chick-flick, and I would recommend it.

Weather Wonders

July 25, 2007
1:10 pm 82 degrees
Expected high today: 90 degrees
Expected low tonight: 69 degrees

July 25, 2006
High: 98
Low: 80

And that's just the temperatures! There are loads of clouds in the sky, with a nice cool breeze. Everyone's lawns are green. The lakes are up. There's no burn ban.

What a great summer. We go biking at lunch, which I hadn't been looking forward to when summer came on, but it's been just perfect! If Texas summers were always like this, no one would ever leave!

Oh, and I've added a poll to the side column! Be sure and vote!

Doodle of the Day

The CatGenie

I got an e-mail from Petco today with a new product highlighted: the CatGenie. One reviewer equated it to the move from bedpans to today's toilets. As I sit here, my nose reminds me that today is the day to change Friday's litter. Ugh. If it weren't for the cost--$279.99 (and that's with a $90-off sale)--I think this might be a great idea. Get it while it's hot; the sale ends tomorrow!

The best spot in the house

It's funny how smart cats are. What seems to be an idiosyncrasy can end up being something very intelligent. Take, for example, where Friday sleeps. In the winter, he sleeps on the bed--day and night. He doesn't ever curl up with us, but he likes the cushy mattress and the warmth it holds. In the summer, he sleeps on the tile, where it's nice and cool. He also sleeps on the carpet right next to the tile. This didn't make sense to me for awhile, until I realized that he's actually choosing the spot not for it's fuzzy nature, but because it's next to the air intake for the air conditioner. The air intake creates a breeze, much like a fan, which we all know makes it easier to sleep. So, I'll label this with the "innovation" label, so that one day, when you're in a place with no fan, you can make sure you nap next to the air intake!

Let's Goog it

I like to check out Google Labs every once in awhile. You can find some really neat stuff that will be coming soon. And Google is happy for you to try out the new things.

One thing I've tried lately is Goog-411. It's a free phone service that will connect you to the business of your choice. It uses the Google search engine and database, which works just as quickly on the phone as on the web. I've used it twice, and you simply dial 1.800.GOOG.411. Then state the city and state, then the name of the business. An automated voice repeats back what you say. When you've confirmed that Goog 411 has found the business you need, you say, "Connect," and voila! Your phone is ringing, and the business of choice is on the other side.

This is really handy for people who have cell phones, but don't have internet access on their phones. We've used it on the way to a movie place, to check on times before we got there. It would also be good to order your food at Chili's or Applebees, who both offer curbside service. Order while you're on your way there, and pick it up on arrival. Or if you're out running errands, and need to find out if your dry cleaning is ready before wasting a detour over there. The possibilities are endless!

"Google" has become a verb. And I think "Goog" just might as well. Next time you're out and about, try Googing something, just for the heck of it.

Doodle of the Day

Surprises

I've gotten a few surprises in my garden this year! One is this beauty:
It's about 3 feet tall and the flower itself is 5 inches wide or so.

Then, because of all the rain, these came up:

And I don't remember planting these this year...I thought I planted them last year....

On the indoor front, my bonsai is making new branches!
They're bigger now than from this picture. I have three new branches. I'm glad, because with all the advances the tree has made this year, it still looks a little scraggly. New branches will be nice.

And in non-gardening news, Holly and Sophie went with us to the lake last week with our church. Here's Jon and Sophie:

Hooray for Harry!

Earlier this week, I was away from home, spending a couple of days in the office for meetings. On the first day, my battery was dead when I tried to start the car up at lunchtime. Because I was on a schedule, I rode with someone else to lunch, and worried about it the whole time. I worried because my battery had worked just fine that morning, and I hadn't left my lights on, or a door open, or anything that would drain the battery. There was no reason for it to be dead. Except...on my way into the parking lot that morning, I'd bottomed out pretty hard on the inclined driveway. Enough to make my cd skip. Then, when I turned off the car, my cd popped out of the cd player. Weird.

So that was on my mind all through lunch. Everyone was busy and in a hurry (in all the same meetings as I), so I didn't want to inconvenience someone to help me jump-start my car. But I also didn't want to wait until the end of the day, in case it was something more than a dead battery. Then I remembered that Jon takes care of me, and keeps my AAA membership up-to-date. Hooray! I called AAA, and they gave me a call when they made it to the parking lot, so I could slip out of the meeting. I explained to AAA guy what had happened that morning, and how it might be more than a dead battery. We popped the hood, and sure enough, there was a problem. The battery had corroded so badly that it had compromised the strength of one of the clamps around the battery peg. My bump on the driveway that morning had jarred the clamp off of the peg. AAA Guy used some pliers to hold the clamp on while I started the ignition. Success! Then he told me that's all he could do, and I better go to a mechanic.

I happen to have a great mechanic in town. It was where Jon and I took our clunkers all through college and beyond. So, I gave Harry the mechanic a call, and he said to come on in.

Harry is an interesting character. He's a bit of a hermit, and doesn't say any more than he has to say. He sort of smirks as we try to explain the funny sounds or vibrations our cars have made. He doesn't ask many questions, just fixes it and goes on.

When I first brought my Hyundai to him, it was before I had even bought it, and I wanted him to look it over. He did, and said it looked all right. But then he took off his hat, scratched his head, and said, "But it's a Hyundai. I've got a good Ford Taurus over there that'll last you years. I'll give it to you for a good price." Noticing that the Taurus was several years older than the Hyundai, I passed up the offer.

Through the years, I've found out very little about him. One of the few things he's said to me was, "Some people sing in the choir; I get greasy." He views his service as a mechanic to be service to the Lord, and it is. He's blessed us many times with his honesty, fair prices, and quick response. It was no different this time.

When I got there, Harry stepped aside from the other cars he was working on to take a look. After a quick assessment, he went to the back his garage, rummaged around a bit, and came back with various tools and gadgets. Within about 20 minutes, he had a new clamp on my battery, and everything worked great. He turned aside to gather his things, and I waited so we could go to the office for payment. After a few awkward moments, he looked up and mumbled, "You're welcome" in a way that said, "There's nothing left to do. Go on about your business." I tried to insist, but he refused payment.

As for the battery itself, it turns out it's the original battery, now 5 years old. Harry cleaned it really well and joked that now that we'd fixed the clamp, the battery will probably go out. But I heard him mutter under his breath, "Huh...that's a good battery...a Hyundai battery...huh!"

I made it back to my meeting in under an hour, with a car that would start and a mind much more at ease. Hooray for Harry!!

Happy Birthday Friday!!

Today is Friday's birthday! He's officially 2! That makes him about 24 in cat years! This second year has been much easier than the first, in terms of health. Now, as many of you know, he's actually even starting to get social!

Happy Birthday Kitty!!!

(Oh, and in honor of Friday's birthday, 7/11 is giving out free Slurpees!)

Doodle of the Day

Mawmaw's Wedding Photos

Here are the photos of the wedding! At least, the best 135 out of 421. :) The wedding was wonderful--very sweet. The new couple seemed to enjoy every minute of it, and everything was beautiful. I really enjoyed using the spiffy camera, too!

Geat News

HOLLY IS SAVED!!

My neighbor, whom many of you have heard me talk about, became a Christian yesterday at church! WOOHOO!!

Camp-o-Rama

Stats:
Armadillos: 7
Live armadillos: 3
Poo Conversations: 24
Deer: 50
Mosquitoes: 4
Flies: 4 thousand
S'mores: 10
water moccasin: 1
buzzards: 7
raccoons: 3

Indian Names:
Cliff: Eats Fly Smells Like Butt Wampum
Teresa: Eats Snacks Takes Naps Wampum
Jon: Growls at Inanimate Objects
Lydia: Pencil Under Shoe

So our camping trip was a whole lot of fun! Here's the run-down. (And go to Teresa's blog for another perspective and more pictures!)

It all starts with our house full of things to take camping. We push and shove most of it into our car, but some just won't fit. No worries, we think. Cliff and Teresa aren't bringing much, so we'll put the rest in their car. Not so. Cliff and Teresa arrive, and their car is as jampacked as ours. How much stuff does it take for 4 people to go camping?? A lot!! We cram most everything in and headed on our way, stopping to see Cliff's old stomping grounds and to grab some barbecue for lunch.

The campsite is really great. We have a perfect spot, near the showers and the office, and it has two trees just the right space apart for a hammock! We set up our tents, our hammock, our laundry line, and the many bins of food. Jon starts the burgers, and we enjoy the evening. We don't see many mosquitoes at all! We have our first experience with the "breezy" compost toilets.

The next morning, I wake up early, and head off to find a good spot for breakfast and Bible study. I pass the dumpster, which is guarded by several buzzards. When I get back, I head to the hammock for a nap, and then it's time for the Gorman Falls tour! Cliff stays behind to rest, but the rest of us head off. It is amazingly beautiful. The falls are spring fed, and the water is crystal clear, a far cry from the muddy Colorado.

Swimming was one of the reasons I picked this park. I found it in a list of Top 10 Texas Swimmin' Holes. There are three waterholes of spring water at the end of the park. We'd been told it was about a couple hundred yards from the office, so we start off on foot. A couple hundred yards later, we come to a gate. Figuring we misheard, we decide the "couple hundred yards" must start here. We continue. It starts raining. We don't mind so much, because we're dressed to get wet anyway, but it's hard to walk, and really not that much fun. Besides, we've definitely gone a couple hundred yards and haven't seen any sign of a spring. We find a hole in the vegetation that lines the path. Being a curious person, I poke my head in, and it's a tree whose limbs drape all the way to the ground, and vines hang down to form a canopy, and a pretty dry one at that. We duck in to wait out the rain. After awhile, Cliff heads out to see just how much further the spring really is. He doesn't come back, and a family coming from the spring lets us know that he's going to stay. We ask how much further it is, and they say, "Just beyond that tree. I'd say a couple hundred yards." The rain is slackening, so we head off.

Well, several hundred yards after that (and I mean several), we finally see the springs. They're beautiful. The water is clear blue, and floor of the pool is limestone, slick with use and algae. We have tons of fun, lazing around and exploring all the pools. We do see one water moccasin. I'm sure he is as scared of us as we are of him, but we aren't going to stick around and test it out. We enjoy more time at the main pool, then head back for hobo dinners.

By this time (Sunday evening) most people have packed up and headed home. We find out the pros and cons to that very quickly. Pros: We can go wherever we want and be as loud as we want. Cons: The flies have no one else to attract them, and we seem to be their sole food source. It's nasty.

On Monday, the rain starts around 2:00pm. Hoping it will be short and sweet like on Sunday, Jon and I wait it out under a large tree. The previous campers under that tree said it was a good cover, "just like it's not even raining." We enjoy it for about the first 2 minutes, and then we are soaking wet for the next 30. Cliff and Teresa had sought refuge in their car, and had driven around a bit. At one point, the rain stops, and we dry off enough and got in our car as well. But the rain starts up again, and eventually, we're all in one car, heading to Lampasas, an hour away, to wait it out. We decide to eat dinner there and get back just in time for bed. Our plan works just fine--it's not raining by the time we get back--except that everything in Cliff and Teresa's tent is soaked.

This poses a problem, because the forecast calls for more rain, and right now, we're down to one tent, one set of sleeping bags, one set of clothes.... We realize that C&T aren't going to get to sleep in the tent that night, so in the light of evening (and later the Coleman lamp) we pack everything up, drying it as much as we can before shoving it into the two cars. Everything's a wet mess, and our cars are in need of Febreze. We leave camp at 10:15pm, with lightening confirming our decision to go. C&T stop for the night in Waco, and we head on home. We hear an emergency announcement on the radio about tornadoes and heavy rains in the area where we left. I have a fleeting thought of the Park Ranger coming out to warn us, only to find that we've been "swept away," with not even a box of matches left behind.

We pull into our driveway at 2:15am, leaving everything in the car but what we needed that night. We both take showers in hot water, enjoying the feeling of clean, then sink into our bed about 3am.

Today, I'm glad I'm at home for my last day of vacation. We slept in, then unpacked, and we'll have the day to do laundry before I have to go back to work. It was a great vacation. We shared a ton of laughs with some of our closest friends (my stomach actually hurts from laughing!), and we made lots of memories.



To see the pictures full-size and leave comments on them, click on the Picasa link. To turn off my captions, click on the green thought bubble in the lower left-hand corner of the slideshow.

Saying Goodbye

Jon and I are getting together all the photo lab equipment I have. A professional photographer gave it to me several years ago, and I've held on to the hope of using it someday. But we keep moving it from place to place, with no real hope of having room to use it. It would require a room (with running water) all to itself, which means a very large bathroom we couldn't use for anything else, or maybe a basement. Either way, labs are dying off, and pretty soon the only supplies I'll find are the ones in my own boxes.

So...we're doing inventory today to see if I could sell it--maybe I could make enough off of it to buy a semi-professional digital camera. A new camera plus the software I already owns gives me the same quality as the boxes and boxes of chemicals, tubs, timers, lamps and beakers that I have now. Still, going through it all (and remembering how complete it is) makes me want to keep it. And, it's sad to realize that what is literally thousands of dollars worth of equipment and supplies will probably sell for a fraction of that.

As you can tell, I'm really struggling with letting it go. The man who gave it to me did so in good faith that I, an aspiring photographer, would learn and grow from it. I feel like I'm betraying his faith in me, though (if I want to rationalize) the money would be used for the same purpose. Selling it is a recognition that I can't dive into every hobby I enjoy. I loved spending hours in the darkroom in college, smelling the chemicals as I entered, and seeing the magic of a perfectly-exposed image appear on a clean white sheet of paper. I like working with my hands more than with a mouse and keyboard. And I'm a nostalgic kind of person, who can appreciate that a master has worked with this enlarger, using these tubs and tongs, to make great things.

However, I also remember the hours I spent to get one print right. Even if I did have the basement, I don't have that kind of time. And it's not a good idea to move these things around until I do.

So, despite my emotional attachment, it really must be sold. I'm already regretting it, yet at the same time I know it's the right thing to do. I can't hang on to everything. I'll still enjoy photography, only digitally. And my garage (and anyone who helps us move in the future) will thank me.

Doodle of the Day

Testing the Blogger Widget

Just testing out the Blogger widget on my dashboard. There's no place to add photos, which isn't as fun. But still a good way to jot down quick notes.

Vacation Time!

Everybody needs a vacation every once in awhile. Jon and I took a vacation in January, and really enjoyed it. But that feels like it was forever ago! The call of summer has been loud and clear. Jon being a bum all day hasn't helped. :) The problem is that 1) I'm trying to actually save vacation days, instead of having nothing left each year to roll over, and 2) a vacation that doesn't include a visit to family is expensive! So, we've decided to take a long weekend (only 2 days off work), and go camping!

Colorado Bend State Park is our destination. It's in the Hill Country of Texas, just north of Fredericksburg. (Check out that picture!) We're going to stay there three nights, the longest I've ever been camping, I'm pretty sure. There are lots of trails, waterfalls, and caves. The park was listed in the Top 10 of Texas Swimmin' Holes, so we'll definitely be swimming, as well as fishing and canoing.

The best part is that Cliff and Teresa are coming with us! A little over a year ago, we went to Austin together. It was one of the best vacations I've ever been on. This trip will be our last before they move, so I'm glad we could squeeze it in.

One thing about this trip, though, is that we'll really be roughin' it. No electricity, no normal bathrooms with showers, and water in a central location to all the sites--not at each site. When I found that out, I called Teresa to make sure that would be okay (I'm not a seasoned camper, so I would have probably backed out pretty quickly). After talking about it, we both realized we'd all been overseas and handled squatty potties; we could do this. Plus, Cliff has a portable shower. (How random is that?!) So, with the comfort of the portable shower in my mind, I made the reservations.

I only remember camping once when I was a kid. My mom made bacon, and then scrambled the eggs in the bacon fat. Yummy....I always wondered how she knew to do that, when we'd never been camping. And why we didn't go more often. My dad is a natural outdoorsman, and would camp with the Boy Scouts, but we only camped as a family that once. I also remember racoon tracks, and playing games until our eyes were blurry. That was so great.

Jon grew up camping. His family would camp all over the place, and kept their gear ready, so they could leave on a whim. Jon says they had the reputation of taking the rain with them. Walter jokes about offering to hire themselves out to drought-stricken areas--their record for rain was so good. :) That hasn't held true with our camping trips now, so it must be another member of the family who holds the curse.

We've been camping overnight twice with our class from church. Both have been really great times, and I always wish we could stay longer. Now we get to! I'm really excited. I'm looking forward to the break, and the time to spend with friends.

Did I mention that I'm the only one who has to take off work? Bums.

Fireplace Innovation

The fireplace is the least energy-efficient part of most homes. Our fireplace leaks when it's raining, so we guessed that our heat and cool air whoosh in and out as well. We decided to make an insulating board to cover up the fireplace. Jon took some measurements, we made a couple trips to Home Depot, put on a couple layers of paint and some glue, added insulation on the back and weather-stripping around the side, and voila! A pretty, yet efficient, fireplace cover.

Fabric Fabulous-ness!

Last week, KarenD and I went to Hancock Fabrics, because it was closing. I just wanted to look around, and didn't have anything in particular in mind. However, while we were browsing, I found the best fabrics! They're fun and trendy, and I thought they'd work perfectly for LMNOvations, Leanna's and my craft business. So, after sending Leanna some pictures, and talking it over, we ended up buying 45 yards of fabric. It was perfect.

So, it's been sitting in my house for a couple of days, and I realized how much I loved the fabric. It would never go in my house, because of the very traditional blue/maroon/beige flowered-y couch that we have. Then, someone suggested a very good idea to me: why not cover the couch! We've tried a slipcover before, but those things are always sloppy looking. However, if I cover it myself, and cover each cushion individually, it will not only stay in place, but also look nice. So that's the goal. And I've picked out a coordinating fabric for curtains.

KarenD saved the day today by getting the fabric for me at Hancock's. She called me at the cash register, and the girl had rung the fabric up wrong, so it was going to cost me over $100. However, Karen pulled out her haggling skills, and in the end we got a good price.

Here's the amazing part. The fabrics were originally sold at $16.95/yard. Then, because they're being discontinued, and the store was closing, we got a great price. I bought a total of 75 yards (yeah, I'll be sewing...a lot), which would have originally cost $1,376.89. How much did I spend on it?

Sixty bucks.

And half that is LMNOvations costs, so my couch and curtains are $30. Sweet.

World Market

Margie and I went to World Market a couple of weekends back. We spent 3 or 4 hours in there (we lost track), and touched literally everything they had. Are looking for something specific? Ask us, and we'll tell you if you can find it at World Market. They do have lots of international instruments, which were tons of fun (and very loud and annoying, I'm sure). Here are pics!

I'm Organized!

So today, I (finally) found my Organizing for Life book. You'll never believe where it was! Did I stick it in the refrigerator in a (not so) momentary lapse into absent-mindedness? The dresser drawer, mistaking it for a pair of socks? Maybe stashed among the pile of work that invades the table? Nope. All good guesses, but none of these places.

It was on my bookshelf! It turns out I am slightly organized, but didn't expect to be. I was looking for something different when I found it. Hooray! My quest for organization can continue!

What's your favorite song?

I just found a site called Godtube, thanks to Cliff's last post. It's pretty cool because there are lots of music videos. One of my favorites is a song by Barlow Girl, "Never Alone." I love the vocals, and the arrangement, plus the message is great, too. And, now that I can, I'm posting the music video! How cool is that?



Now it's your turn! Look up your favorite song, and post the video! I don't know how extensive the site is, so it may not have everything, but post a good one, if you can't find your favorite.

Visual DNA

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Leanna pointed out this test. I really like it! I don't think I'm a high roller, but maybe I just dream about it. :)

Our First Biking Incident

It finally happened. After a year of biking, we were left with a bum bike and a long walk home.

Last week, Jon and I woke up earlier than normal to go biking. It was cool outside, perfect for biking. Everything was going fine, until suddenly, "Uh, oh. I think something is broken..." Then Jon's right pedal falls off. Yep. I would say it's broken. And we just happened to be at the farthest point from home. Oh, well! By avoiding our normal circuitous route, and staying on the main trail, we estimate we walked 2-3 miles home. It was a good thing we started out early! Jon headed to the bike place, and came back with it all fixed up.

This morning, we added a jog around the lake in the middle of our route. My legs were not prepared to quit pedalling and start jogging, and my knees were not happy with the shift from low- to high-impact, but I think it will be a good addition to our routine. Our very own biathlon.

Life Not So Organized

Is it a bad sign that I lost my Organizing for Life book?

Personally, I think it's bad planning on the writer's part. She knows people who buy her book will not be organized. She should make the book 2ft by 2ft in caution orange, or have one of those little things that beep when I clap. It's all her fault, really.

Personality Test Results

Extraversion	||||||||||||||	60%
Stability	||||||||||	40%
Orderliness	||||||||||	36%
Accommodation	||||||||||||||||	63%
Interdependence	||||||||||||||||	70%
Intellectual	||||||||||||	43%
Mystical	||||||	23%
Artistic	||||||||||||||||||||	83%
Religious	||||||||||||||||||||	90%
Hedonism	||	10%
Materialism	||||	16%
Narcissism	||||||||||||	50%
Adventurousness	||||||||||||	50%
Work ethic	||||||||||	36%
Self absorbed	||||||||||||	43%
Conflict seeking	||||||||||	36%
Need to dominate	||||||||||||||	56%

Romantic	||||||||||||||	56%
Avoidant	||||||	30%
Anti-authority	||||||||||||||	56%
Wealth	||||	16%
Dependency	||||||||||||||||	63%
Change averse	||||||||||||||||||	76%
Cautiousness	||||||||||||||	56%
Individuality	||||||||||||	50%
Sexuality	||||||||||||||||	63%
Peter pan complex	||||||||||||	50%
Physical security	||||||||||||||||||||	90%
Physical fitness	||||||||||||||	57%
Histrionic	||||||||||||||	56%
Paranoia	||||||	30%
Vanity	||||||||||||||	56%
Hypersensitivity	||||||||||||||	56%
Female cliche	||||||||||||	50%

Stability results were moderately low which suggests you are worrying, insecure, emotional, and anxious.

Orderliness results were moderately low which suggests you are, at times, overly flexible, improvised, and fun seeking at the expense of reliability, work ethic, and long term accomplishment.

Extraversion results were moderately high which suggests you are, at times, overly talkative, outgoing, sociable and interactive at the expense of developing your own individual interests and internally based identity.

Trait Snapshot: craves attention, messy, open, rash, irritable, likes large parties, low self control, weird, fragile, does not like to be alone, emotionally sensitive, worrying, depressed, heart over mind, does not respect authority, dependent, not rule conscious, not good at saving money, more interested in relationships than intellectual pursuits, likes to fit in, very social, frequently second guesses self, phobic, suspicious, not careful, outgoing, vain, compassionate, aggressive, likes to make fun, hates to lose

----
Some of these things are way off, but others are okay. I tried hard not to pick the middle 50% answer, but maybe I would be more balanced if I had left those! :)

Hooray for Husbands!

I was reading my mom's latest post, and was going to comment on hers about something great my husband did, but thought, "I bet every wife has a Knight in Shining Armor story, and I want to hear them!"

So, if someone can claim you as wifey-poo, comment with a great story about him! The stories can be about big or little things, as long as it reminded you about what a great guy you married.

Here's mine:

On Saturday, Jon and I propped the fence back up with extra fence boards. The fence is actually a lot heavier than I thought, and it was an effort on both our parts to get it back in place. In the process, we accidentally trapped a salamander under the fence! I noticed him wriggling, really trying to get out. I couldn't lower the fence back to where it had been, because it would squish the salamander even more, and it would require taking the entire fence back down (since it's still in one piece). I needed to lift the fence straight up. I did everything I could, but I couldn't budge the fence. Jon (who is not the animal-lover I am) was trying to tell me that it was just a salamander. However, he could see that it really bothered me, so, putting aside the thought that the fence could fall back down (and that it was silly to save a salamander), he managed to lift the fence just high enough for the little guy to scurry away.

My hero!

Bonsai

I have kept something alive for 3 years! When I graduated from college, my father-in-law gave me a bonsai tree. It's grown some, and I haven't messed with it a whole lot (probably why it's still alive.)

Anyway, a coworker of mine has bonsai trees as a hobby, so she said she'd help me repot the little guy. I bought all my supplies, she brought special soil, and we set up on a picnic table outside of work yesterday.

Here's the final product!
Next year, before the growing season (we were too late this year), I'll clip all the leaves, and they'll come back miniaturized, to fit more in proportion with the bonsai. I just have to keep it alive! :)

My silly husband.

You guys don't think he's silly, but he is!

The Storm

Yesterday, I took a picture of my flower garden. It's doing so well, and looked so pretty! I planted three rose bushes in a new pot, and I was so excited about them. Here's the picture to immortalize my success. :)
Then, last night, the storm hit. I was over on Holly's side, making dinner. It rained harder and the wind blew more than I've ever seen before. Jon said between 75 and 80 mph. It was insane. The sirens went off, and we were watching the weather reports closely. Just as my stir fry was ready, the electricity went off. So, we used flashlights to serve up our plates, lit some candles, and took the whole picnic into the bathroom. I'm not a huge fan of eating in the bathroom, but hey, you do what you gotta do. And it kept our minds off of what could potentially be happening outside. Toward the end of dinner, we got a phonecall from Holly's aunt, who must have had power still, and knew that the worst was over. We finished our meal and came out of hiding.

The rain had slowed to a soft drippiness, so we headed over to my side of the house to get some extra candles, check on the cat, and make sure things were still intact. It was then that I saw this:
Can't tell what it is? Let me show you in the daylight:
Yep, the fence fell over...right on top of my beautiful flowers. Both pictures were taken after Holly and I got the plants upright and away from the fence. Many had fallen over, including the roses, which had fallen out of the pot entirely. I hope they make it.

You'll notice that there's still a fence up behind ours. Our neighborhood has a tendency to double-fence: Each house gets it's own fence. It turns out pretty handy--"our" side of the fence in the back is almost completely gone, and always has been. Now this side is gone as well. However, just outside of the picture frame, the other neighbor's fence is also blown over.

The electricity came on at 3:15am. We've made a call to our landlord about the fence. Poor guy is just having everything happen! He doesn't get back in town until Saturday, so it probably won't be fixed for awhile.

Anything else want to happen? Roof, you feel like leaking? Ants wanna take over the house? Fire? (That actually happened to a duplex a block away a few weeks ago.) Whatever it is, my luck's pretty low right now, so you've got a good chance here!

The Flood

Here it is! What you've all been waiting for! It's pretty long, perfect for a break from work! :)

Bluebonnets

Here are all the bluebonnet photos I've taken. Some are from the highway stop Margie and I made, and some are from the camping trip last weekend.

And here's my "skipping through the bluebonnets," not to be confused with Margie's. :) It was just taken with my digital camera, not the camcorder.



Hopefully flood and camping videos coming soon!

Pause in Posts

There will be a slight delay in posting right now. Our duplex flooded last weekend. The house is still turned up-side-down from it, and might be for awhile, depending on if the carpet is replaced. On top of that, I've got a cold or allergies or something. This coming weekend, we'll be out of town camping. BUT, when things settle back down, I'll have a flood video for you! Aren't you excited?

Happenings

Yesterday we had a guy, David, cut our grass. It was a weird feeling, because we're pretty self-sufficient, especially when it comes to paying someone for a service we're perfectly capable of doing ourselves. But, our lawnmower is on the blink, and the back yard was pretty scary. David took a weed eater to it, and had it smooth as a golf course in...well, it took awhile. He also trimmed the tops of our bushes where I can't reach. Now our yard looks very nice. Hopefully the mower will be out of the shop in time for the next trim.

An interesting note: before David left, he asked if he could pray for us. I thought that was pretty neat.

We passed his name on to neighbors, so I hope we can get a little more business coming his way. He lives a couple of blocks over, and just walks around with his tools in his hand, looking for a yard with someone he can talk to (I happened to be outside attacking the bushes). He seems happy to do labor, and thanked God in his prayer for the joy of work. That's a good thought. On that note, I guess I should get back to my own work, eh?

Hello World!

Cultural relevance

I've felt like I've had something to post about for the past few days, but when I pull up Blogger, I immediately forget what it was. So, in an effort to drag the idea out of my head, I'll proceed to write about everything I can. Maybe eventually it will come out. (Aren't you excited?)

Was it Habitat for Humanity? We went last Saturday. It had been pouring down rain the day before, but Saturday turned into a beautiful day, despite the inches of mud we had to walk on. I started out on the roof, hammering decking (plywood) into the beams. It was kind of scary at first, but the more decking we had up there, the safer it was. I hit my finger pretty hard with the hammer, and it's been purple and swollen for the past couple of days. I can finally bend it, but not all the way. I wish I could say it's broken (because that sounds cool), but I think it's just really badly bruised, which isn't as cool.

Was it Holly and Sophie's recent health saga? Saturday night we rushed Sophie to the ER because she was shaking and turning blue, with a really high fever. The shaking and blueness were from chills, which stopped before we even got there, but we found out Sophie has early pneumonia. Poor girl just can't stay well! And poor mom is about worn out! I am still praying for Holly's salvation. She actually scheduled an appointment to talk with our pastor, but got scared and canceled it. Not that the pastor is the golden ticket or anything, but I was hoping he would lend some authority to the answers to her questions. In the meantime, I continue to talk with her, and answer questions as best as I can. I know it's up to the Holy Spirit.

Maybe it was about Friday, who has now started an odd habit of taking each piece of food to the carpet to eat. Nah...

Maybe it was my growing awareness of the filth (muck...putrescence, if you will) I allow to enter my brain via TV and movies, as well as the growing awareness of good alternatives. Leanna posted about avoiding TV, and Margie posted about not avoiding movies because of content, but being discerning as you watch them. Lately I've realized that so much of what I watch is meaningless, or promotes a worldview I don't agree with. Sometimes it's so subtle, I don't realize it. An example that Jon and I have given is Grey's Anatomy, which is a show we were hooked on for awhile. Then we started to realize we were rooting for things that were...well...sinful! We wanted McDreamy to leave his wife to sleep with his intern, who had already slept with the rest of the cast (plus a few more). How did our minds get so clouded that we would cheer for the exact opposite of what God desires? It happens in lots of shows/movies. We allow the director to steer us exactly where he wants us to go, so our emotions cloud our discernment.

So, here's the question: How do we deal with a sinful world, right in our living room? Do we embrace it? I think the answer is no. Do we reject it? Well, that's where it gets fuzzy. The book that Margie reviews (Hollywood Worldviews) suggests that we don't reject it, but be discerning as we watch. This allows Christians to stay culturally "with it," so we don't build a communication barrier with the world. The author, Brian Godawa, gives this definition of a "cultural anorexic:"

"[Cultural anorexics] miss the positive values that do exist in many movies, but also those who would completely withdraw from culture because of its imperfection suffer a decreasing capacity to interact redemptively within that culture. They don't understand the way people around them think because they are not familiar with the 'language' those people are speaking or the culture they are consuming. A communication barrier results, and these cultural abstainers often end up in irrelevance and alienation from others."

I have to admit I don't have a culturally relevant bone in my body. I don't even really know if Slater was cool or not, and I had no idea that was his last name. I always picked The Cosby Show as my favorite TV show in school, just because I'd seen a few episodes of it at someone's house (and I had a suspicion that I really wouldn't have fit in if I said The Andy Griffith Show, which I watched at the babysitter's house). All this to say, I've lived a life of not being culturally relevant. Has that built communication barriers between me and the world? Probably. But here's the deal. The media is not real life. Most people in this world don't fit in the mold of TV life. How many of you have talked to a medical intern, who have laughed at the "reality" of Grey's Anatomy or ER, or how many cops praise the accuracy of CSI? For that matter, those of you who've gone to foreign countries know how other cultures judge Americans by our TV, and what strange ideas they get about us (every American woman is loose, half the population is homosexual, etc.). Gosh, WE even get strange ideas about us! I was shocked to realize how conservative America is, when given the chance. What was it: California? who soundly voted down gay marriage, which lets me know that media and politics have a sneaky way of distorting truth.

So maybe I can't connect with the media, but I can connect with people. When people need help, it turns out that they realize what's relevant. I think of Holly; she used to do what was socially acceptable--party all the time, have a live-in boyfriend, etc. When I met her, she intimidated me, because I was the one who didn't fit in, not her. I felt the "socially unacceptable" emblazoned on my forehead. But she needed help, and I gave it to her, and it turns out that's all that was necessary to form a friendship. Sure, she laughs at me for not knowing who a singer is, or ribs me for being "perfect," but I'm real with her, and she knows I'm far from perfect. In turn, I know she's not "unredeemable," like so many Christians are quick to judge those who fall prey to the world's vices. (And I'm still quick to judge those I don't know.) I guess that's some of the point Brian Godawa was making in his book. He said not to reject a movie for its faults, and I'm saying not to reject a person for her faults.

Forget the movies. It doesn't matter if you've never seen a movie in your life. Humans are human, and we all have a need to be loved and accepted. We all mess up and know it, and we all look for meaning to our lives. Christians know a God who loves unconditionally, offers forgiveness and acceptance to all, and gives us each a calling higher than anything we could imagine. Now that's relevant. And we've got it! Why are we afraid of it? Why do I think, "Oh, she's a partier; she'll just laugh at anything I have to say." You know what it is? It's a very tiny part of my mind, whispering to me, "Your Bible doesn't have answers for this. You can't trust it to offer what she needs." What a lie!! How could I listen to such trash? But I admit that I do!

It sounds cliché, but the Bible really is all we need for answers. It doesn't have to turn us into pious, self-righteous people who can't look at the ugliness of the world, for fear of being tainted. Believe me, the ugliness of the world is right there in the Bible, too! And so is the answer for it.

Trust in God. Have faith that He has come to redeem the world, sinners and all! And He's going to use you to do it. Don't worry about whether you're socially acceptable, or if you can keep up with the latest lingo. The world is lost, and most of them won't care if you're a little awkward, as long as you're the one holding out the lifeline. God promises that He "did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline." Take hold of that promise, and get out there!

This began as a response to Godawa's definition of a "cultural anorexic," and ended up as a call to boldness in our evangelism, because we hold something that is more culturally relevant than anything else. I haven't read the rest of the book, and would like to. The judgment he gives toward "cultural anorexics" can be a slippery slope toward allowing things into our minds for the sake of relevance, when that's not what makes us relevant. I'm not saying we need to swear off pop culture forever, but I do think we need to be on our toes and discerning with whatever we watch, whether it be the latest horror flick, or the summer Disney adventure. Discuss what you see with your spouse/friends. Challenge yourself to figure out what worldview the movie/TV show is promoting. And if it's promoting something you don't agree with, don't watch it! Don't excuse watching what's popular just so you can know how the world thinks. Keep it up for too long, and you'll find yourself as Jon and I did, cheering for the exact opposite of what we should.

Yep, that's what I was going to talk about. That's all for now. :)