Virtual Friday

For all of you who can't stop by any time and play with the little kitty, I've put him online! Scroll down and see Friday in the left-hand column. Click on "more" to play with a toy. :)

Edit: Well, IE is dumb and didn't like having my little kitty in the left-hand column. Probably had something to do with "floats" or something in CSS, but I don't want to take the time to figure it out. :) So...here is the kitty right in this blog!

Play with Friday on my blog!

adopt your own virtual pet!

The latest goings ons

Jon and I had our first day of a new ministry on Sunday. We are starting a Sunday morning Bible study and singing time at a physical therapy place. (For you Columbites, it's like the nursing home ministry, only at a rehab center.) We found out last Monday that it was going to start on Sunday, so that gave me 6 days to dust off the guitar I hadn't played in a few years and try to remember any chords I had learned. My fingers have been in constant pain this week as I've worked on getting callouses. Today I think they're finally beginning to form.

Anyway, I learned two hymns and two praise songs, to be played according to who was there (from the people we met Sunday, I'll only be learning hymns from now on). Jon put together a Bible study about Zaccheus (the wee little man).

I realized that my week of playing was not enough to actually be any good, but I felt pretty confident that I could play the tunes as long as Jon sang, but I couldn't do both at the same time. On Sunday morning, Jon was struck by "The Crud" and wasn't going to be able to sing. I frantically called my friend Margie, who by some miracle was running late and hadn't left for church, yet. She agreed to sing, thank goodness!

The only problem was that Margie is an alto, and I don't know how to transition songs to a lower key. So we had Margie trying to squeak out "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" while Jon tried his best with the lower notes, and I tried to at least hit the high notes while still getting the rhythm right on the guitar. Needless to say, it was a mess and I've got a lot more practice ahead of me. :)

We only had two ladies attend, and they were both very sweet Christian ladies who appreciated that they had a place to worship on a Sunday when they would miss their own church services. Jon did an excellent job with Zaccheus, and then we rushed away to make it back to church in time for Sunday School. I think we learned many things on our first trip out there, and hopefully everything will smooth out as we get more used to it. I think we'll have more attendees, too, when word gets out.

Our church has a volleyball league that happens every fall, and our Young Marrieds department is one of the teams. We try our best, but we're not very good. As a matter of fact, sometimes we're downright bad. Like yesterday, for example, we played two teams, three games with the first team and four with the second (they beat us so quickly we had time for one more game). We lost all 7 games! How amazing is that! And did I mention that the team who beat us four times was the 50-somethings team?

I know I definitely contribute. Yesterday the ball came right to me, and I caught it. I caught it! What was I thinking?! I also have a tendency to duck, too. Never put a person on the court who is afraid of balls.

But we have a blast. We laugh through everything, and occasionally we win a game or two. Last night two of our teammates played for the other team because they didn't have enough players (we always have good participation, despite our lack in talent). Both players were very good, Mike and Joanna. Mike spikes very well, and very hard. I learned this firsthand last night when I returned the ball with a head butt. Make that a face butt. Basically, Mike spiked the ball right into my face. It wasn't his fault at all, and he felt really bad, especially when my glasses flew in three different directions. Joanna took me home (because I couldn't drive blind!) to get my contacts to finish out the games.

Despite a swollen nose, a bruised cheekbone, and broken glasses, there are several positive things that come from this story. One, I found out I play much better with contacts. Two, I was getting kind of tired of my glasses anyway, and don't really think the prescription was correct. Three, I had been putting off going to the optometrist about getting the right contacts (the ones I've tried lately dry out my eyes) and this makes me have to deal with it now. Four, when the ball hit my face, it bounced off and back over the net, where the other team was not paying attention (something about a person getting whacked in the face can be distracting) and I got our team a point! Woohoo!

Jon missed the games because he was home sick. The cool front turned a little allergies into a full-blown sinus infection, and he was trying to get some rest. We've both been bundled up in blankets the past few days. You who know us know we hate to spend money as a general principle, and especially on things like heating and air conditioning. So it's nice to never hear the AC come on, and we haven't wanted to turn the heater on quite yet. Needless to say, I wore a hat in the the house all day yesterday, and we've stayed pretty well bundled up. Little Friday is looking rather poofy; I think he's figuring out what all his fur is for. He's also figuring out that my lap is warmer than the floor, and I just may have a lap cat after all. At least during the winter. :) But don't worry about us! (To my grandparents and parents who read this) We really could afford the heater if we wanted to turn it on, and it's not really that cold--just a big difference from the 85 degrees we kept it set on during the summer. :) And now that we're in the cooler months, we have an advantage that we can always pile on more clothes to stay warm!

See, to me, the air conditioning is like a contest. It's a battle of wills. Who will win? TXU or me? Of course, with TXU's rates always going up and up, I think they still win, but they don't get as much out of me as they could! Hahaha! I have prevailed! I have stood strong, battled hard, endured much! You shall never conquer me, TXU!

I gotta go grab another pair of socks....

Baylor Memories

Well, I stole this from Teresa's blog, but I've bolded the things I've done, and italicized the things Jon's done (also changed/added some pictures).

Courtesy of the BU Line Magazine...see how many of these you've done!!
(the ones I have done are in bold)
• Change your major at least once.
• Get an internship, preferably one that pays at least minimum wage.
• Climb the magnolia trees in front of Draper. (no, but I climbed the oaks by the SUB)
• Participate in Rush, even if you don't plan on joining a fraternity or sorority. It's a great way to meet people.
• Play on an intramural team with a cool name like the Thirsty Camels or Game Over.
• Run the Bear Trail in under eighteen minutes. (I think I made it in 20 minutes one time...)
• Study abroad for a semester or a summer.
• Go to IHOP at 2 a.m. to study or just to hang out with a bunch of friends.
• Participate in a volunteer opportunity like Steppin' Out or Habitat for Humanity.
• Go to Cameron Park and play in the water park, visit the zoo, and gaze out at the river from Lover's Leap.


• Go to Sing and Pigskin and compare the two.
• Don't use Diadeloso as an opportunity to study or sleep. Go have fun--get hypnotized, compete in the tug-o-war contest, or get pulled into a mud puddle tussle.
• Schedule a semester where you get a day off every week. OR 2 days off a week is even more awesome, especially while living in NYC.
• Celebrate Christmas at Baylor by going to a Chamber Singers concert at Armstrong Browning Library or watching the traditional Christmas tree
lighting during Christmas on Fifth Street.


• Chalk the sidewalk.
• Pick some cotton--see how many T-shirts you can collect from various organizations.
• If any sports team makes it to the Final Four or the NCAA championship, go to the game. Forget about class, papers, or tests--this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
• Enjoy Waco's favorite beverage by going to the Dr Pepper Museum, getting a float at Dr Pepper Hour, or driving to Dublin for a taste of the original.
• Climb the rock wall at the Student Life Center.
• Get your picture taken while sitting on Judge Baylor's lap or with a Baylor icon like the bear mascots or the current Baylor president.
• Go to a professor's house for dinner.
• Go to the Church Under the Bridge.
• Learn to sail at the Marina and try not to fall in the river.
• Play hide-and-go-seek in Burleson Quadrangle.
• Get covered with food during Freshman Follies.
• Run with the Baylor Line onto the field at a football game. Yell throughout the game, no matter the score. If you can talk the next day, you didn't yell loud enough.
• Pull an all-nighter in the library during finals. (Not in the library, and I never hid in the art department, either, but I did stay up working on art projects)
• Tailgate before a game either in the Ferrell Center parking lot or at Floyd Casey Stadium's Touchdown Alley.
• Read a poem by Robert or Elizabeth Barrett Browning while sitting in the Armstrong Browning Library's Foyer of Meditation.
• Learn to two-step at one of Waco's country dance halls, or travel up I-35 to West for some authentic Czech food and fun.
• Check out some legendary Waco-area sites--the concrete gorilla on Austin Avenue, the "giant mailbox," the entrance to President Bush's ranch, the witch's grave, or the Branch Davidian compound.

(what, that's not the right gorilla??)

• Wander around Oakwood Cemetery and look for the graves of the Baylor presidents and Texas governors who are buried there.
• Find out how many times you can drive around the Circle and survive.
• Take a tour of Waco's historic homes.
• Get a caffeine buzz at Common Grounds.
• Have no absences from class for a whole semester.
• Steal a kiss on the Suspension Bridge.
• Attend a Baylor play, choir concert, or symphony performance.
• Pull pranks on people in the dorms--pour a bucket of cold water on a friend while she's taking a shower or put Saran Wrap over the toilet seats.
• Play a lively game of Frisbee in your dorm whenever there's a power failure.
• Write a letter to the editor of the Lariat about the latest campus controversy.
• Drive to Independence to visit Baylor's original campus.
• Have a picnic at dawn on the field by the Marina. Applaud when the sun comes up and then go to class exhausted but exhilarated.
• Go to one of Waco's great old restaurants: have a late-night Healthburger and milkshake at Health Camp, enjoy a chicken fried steak and a beverage of your choosing at George's, eat a gut-pak at Vitek's, pick up some old-style barbecue at Jasper's, have a huge early-morning breakfast at Kim's, grab a double lip locker and some oriental fries at Kitok's, get a take-out burger from Cupp's and let the grease soak through the bag. (Thanks John!)
• Help freshmen move into Collins Hall and enjoy a father's appreciative sigh of relief that you are the one carrying all of the stuff up the stairs. (Jon helped at Penland)
• Go to UnRush and try to figure out which of your friends is a NoZe brother.
• Play a round of Frisbee golf or campus golf with a tennis ball and golf club.
• Participate in Jell-O fights on Fountain Mall during finals.
• Stop and read the plaques on the memorial lampposts dedicated to Baylor alumni who died serving their country.
• Buy an official class ring and receive it from Baylor's president at the ring ceremony.
• Watch Chamber members clean the Bear Pit.
• Participate in Homecoming by helping build the bonfire, guarding the flame, stealing the flame, walking in or riding a float in the parade, or going to Freshman Mass Meeting.
• Be a Min-Con leader, big sister or brother, or mentor to a freshman.
• Jump in or run through a campus fountain. (I slid down the fountain on a cafeteria tray!)
• Play in the snow on the one day of the year (maybe) that it snows, and make a snowman with what little flurries accumulate.



• Study for exams in an unusual place, like a hospital cafeteria
• Sit on one of the campus swings with someone and don't talk--it ruins the moment.
• Take as many random road trips as possible to nowhere in particular.
• Fall in Love.


• Learn more than you ever thought possible.
• Find a group of best friends that you will keep for the rest of your life.


Thanks, everyone, for helping make these memories possible! We are so blessed to have friends. :)

Pickle Day!

Some of you might remember that eight weeks ago to the day I made pickles. And today I could finally open them! Well, I'd like to report, while a little stronger than I expected, they are pretty good. A little crunchy, not soggy, which is good. :) Jon said they tasted like pickles, so I guess that's good. I've given them to one other person, and we'll see what she says before I really give my verdict.

Update: Okay, we have a verdict. The pickles are good, but very strong. :) The suggestion was to put more pickles into each jar. I think this goes to show that patience is actually not a virtue when it comes to pickling, and I should have just eaten them the day I made them!