St.Louis, Misery

THE HARDEST THING EVER

2008-10-14T22:45:00.004-05:00

For those of you who still check this thing every once in awhile....

I am in the midst of my student teaching experience. Hence the total neglect of this blog. I got placed in a fourth grade class at the school I wanted to be at. I have a wonderful classroom teacher and a wonderful supervisor. However, I am still asking myself-
Why did I have to choose the hardest career ever? This is the most difficult challenge I have ever encountered. Every day I have to start over and tell myself "It's a new day." I have to remain calm. I have to remain positive. I am not naturally this way-I get riled up easily. I constantly tend toward being negative. Please pray for me during this time of daily challenge in my life.

InBev Take Note

2008-07-20T23:52:00.001-05:00

We went to the Bellefontaine Cemetery last month. Cemeteries are the nicest parks in Saint Louis. Quiet. Green. Peaceful. No people. And great for taking pictures of really old tombs. Plus we found Adolphus Busch's family Masuoleum. I have no idea where this guy is in the Busch family tree, but whoever he was, when I peeked through the windows I am sure I heard him rolling over in there.

The Water is Rising; Sinners Repent!

2008-07-20T23:51:00.000-05:00

Okay this post is about four weeks overdue- considering the river is down now and everything, but I don't care because I had a lot of overdue fines at the library (plus a lost book) which I completely paid off so I figure I can make up for my lateness on this blog too. P.S. I know it's nerdy but I am pretty excited when I log into my library account and it says "you have no current fines or fees." I had such a long rap sheet...

We had a fun date one night when we got some fast food for dinner and then took it to the river and ate it on the arch steps. Then we took a hundred pictures of the flooded Mississippi trying to get a good shot.

submerged road signs

contemplating the flood

The Water is Rising Part II

2008-07-20T23:50:00.000-05:00

June- Introduction

2008-06-26T21:00:00.007-05:00

Since it is nearing the end of the month and I have not updated at all I will try to give a recap of what the heck we have been up to (and maybe it will be a good excuse of of my blogslacking). Since I am lazy I'll just publish the month of June in a series of lists and/or synopses. I'll try to put it in a logical order. So just keep reading until you have gotten to something you've already read. Unless, that is, you are totally bored. If that is the case this blog is not for you because you won't find anything interesting on it. Anywhere. Enjoy.

End of May/June: More Company

2008-06-26T20:59:00.007-05:00

We didn't know this would be the case but in the last couple months we have had the most company at our house we have ever had in all our three years living here. You already know all about my sibling's visit. Then at the end of May my grandparents Burkhart flew into Saint Louis. We picked them up and they stayed the night at our house. The next day we took them to the Cathedral Basilica to see and enjoy its beauty. Then we headed to Normal, Illinois so that they could see their granddaughter (my cousin) Jessica's graduation. We all stayed with her parents, my Aunt Lynda and Uncle Dan. If you are ever in Normal stay with them. Even if there are ten other people staying in their house you'll still get top-notch hospitality and some tasty eats. It was a relaxing weekend in which we ate a lot of food and did a lot of sitting around talking and/or doing nothing. It was also nice to see my grandparents and get to have them visit me in Saint Louis.

Then a couple weeks later I was stalking people on Facebook when I get an instant message from an old friend named Tim. Tim and his family are long-time friends with Jonathan and Jonathan's family. Since Jonathan dropped off the face of the earth when he married me he didn't stay much in contact with Tim or any other old friends. (Tim did run off to Scotland for a few years though so Jonathan has a partial excuse.) Anywho, turns out Tim and his younger brother Nate and Nate's two friends are doing every guy's dream- traveling all around the country in an old motor home with no jobs, no responsibilities, for as long as they want (they plan to return in the fall) and playing music in the streets to earn some cash. After a Boise send-off concert they hit Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Salt Lake, and Denver. Kansas City then St. Louis were next on their list. Tim, knowing we were in St. Louis, asked me if he could come see us on their way through. So long story short, the Great Northwest Secession (yes, they named their trip) spent some time with the Nelsons. We let them park their motor home in the back of the house. They came on a Thursday night and left Sunday morning.They pretty much entertained themselves. They walked from our house to the Arch, rode their bikes to the Zoo, and took late night bike rides around downtown. Friday night I made them dinner and then we hung out, talked, and watched Flight of the Concords. Saturday was my birthday (that will be separate post- shouldn't my birthday deserve a separate post after all?) but I had to work so Jonathan entertained them by taking them Frisbee golfing and then playing video games. It was fun to catch up with Tim and Nate and meet their friends- Ben and Sam. They claimed that they play music but I never did hear any from them. ( I did, however, get a free copy of Nate's CD) But I guess it's our own fault. They didn't need to wander around downtown playing music for food money because we fed them. I at least got a picture so I can prove they were in my house if they ever do get famous.
From Left to Right: Sam, Tim, Nate, Ben, pretending to be a "band"

If you would like to read Ben's perspective on their time here and more about The Great Northwest Secession you can click here.

June: Cooking, Music, and Books

2008-06-26T20:58:00.001-05:00

As you know I am a picky eater. And fickle. That being said it is easy to understand why finding meals that I like is a chore. Once I do find meals I like I can get sick of them fast, so I am oftentimes looking for new recipes to try. It seems like this month has been one of those times. Just about every dinner Jonathan or I have made has been one we have never tried. Here is a partial list of the new recipes-
most of them came from my cookbooks or Taste of Home Magazines.

-stir fried scallops and pea pods
-chowmein chicken salad with turkey on biscuits
-volcano fold over pizzas
-chicken and penne dijon
-bacon cheeseburger buns
-hamburger macaroni and cheese
-mexican chicken manicotti
-ginger glazed pork chops
-chicken breasts in cilantro and parsley sauce
-stir fried basil chicken
-spicy sausage manicotti
-stromboli sandwiches
-ginger chicken

About 75 percent of those are keepers so I am happy about that. The next couple weeks I am going to try-

-creamy chicken enchiladas
-roast chicken with grape and blue cheese salad
-spicy nacho bake
-guilt-free mac n cheese
-sauteed chicken and peppers with coconut rice
-chicken salad in bib lettuce cups

I have also been on the hunt for some new music (I get tired of music fast too.) I found out I can check out 20 CDs from the library at a time! I had no idea because I figured it was the same as the 4 movie limit. I took advantage of that new information and went to town.
First the albums/bands I liked:
-Spoon- Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga and Gimme Fiction
-Bright Eyes- Cassadega
-Radiohead- In Rainbows
-Keane- Under the Iron Sea
-The Decemberists- The Crane Wife

I did not like:
-Neutral Milk Hotel
-Belle and Sebastian
-Nelly Furtado
-Jack Johnson

I haven't decided yet if I like:
-Death Cab- Narrow Stairs
-Arcade Fire- Funeral

I tried to get caught up on some reading and got a ginormous amount of books from the library. I have slowed down on the reading though. I'll have to get back on it.

I read:
-A Wrinkle in Time
-Clair de Lune
-A Single Shard
-Island of the Aunts
-Mirror Mask
-Flour Babies
-A Wind in the Door
-The Loud Silence of Francine Green

Currently I am trying to finish reading:
-Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

I still have these to read:
-Celandine
-Greenwitch
-A great and terrible beauty
-Book of a thousand days
-The love curse of the Rumbaughs
-The golden dream of Carlo Chuchio
-Over sea, under stone
-The MI strategy bank : 800+ multiple intelligence ideas for the elementary classroom
-The teenage liberation handbook : how to quit school and get a real life and education
-The well-managed classroom
-What Jamie saw
-Out of the dust

Were those the most exciting lists or what?!

June 14th: 23 Years

2008-06-26T20:57:00.000-05:00

Yeah the actual day of my birthday wasn't the best. First I had to take the Praxis at 7 am- a high stress, seemingly no right or wrong answer, standardized test for teachers. I have to pass it to get my certification and to graduate as required by the State. I didn't study as much as I should have; I have heard too many people say they had to take it more than once. But when I took it it was easier then I expected so I am not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. After my test we stopped at the McBride's yard-sale and got some free dining table chairs (we only have two), which was a pretty good birthday present. Then we came home and I made some mini chocolate cupcakes to take to work. I wanted to have some fun on my birthday even if it had to be on the job, but I figured cupcakes would help.
I got a nice surprise though. Flowers delivered to me at work! Gerbera daisies in a short little green glass vase. (Why didn't I take a picture! Idiot!) I thought they were from a secret admirer or something. Turns out they were.... they were from my husband. Just kidding his admiration of me is definitely not a secret. Then I came home from work and went to bed. So yeah, not the best birthday day ever. But I am not too strict on celebrating birthdays on the actual day. Therefore Jonathan and I celebrated on Sunday by going out to lunch at Red Lobster for Shrimp Scampi, getting a new CD player for me at Best Buy (remember how I broke our old one in fits of rage?), and then eating some Breyer's Coffee ice cream. Plus I got some awesome presents.

From my darling mother in law:
-two cds (decemberists, and death cab)
-The Parent Trap on DVD
-some money to buy my favorite book, Jane Eyre
-there is one more on the way too!
Can you believe how she spoils me rotten?

From my darling parents:
-100 smackaroos

From my darling husband:
-56 kid's books (won on ebay)- all newberry honor or other award winning books and 90 percent which I have not read. (I have a collection going, you know)

Now I am going to have to use the birthday money to buy a bookcase.

From my darling friends Karen, Annika, and Lauren-
-a trip to Ted Drewes for a Fox Treat
-their lovely company in my home
-aren't they cute? Annika is on the left. Lauren on the right.

From my darling sister (who is dyslexic btw):
-unfortunately the package she sent was returned because she wrote my address number as 2337 instead of 2733.
-I LOVE YOU BROOKE!!!!!!
-I am sorry I just can't stop teasing you about this
I do believe in fairies, I do, I do!

2008-06-25T12:57:00.002-05:00

Dear Readers,
I didn't mean to go over two weeks without blogging. Honest. I will be back soon. Check back for some exciting entertainment; hopefully tonight or tomorrow.
Thanks for your patience,
Sage

Evaluations

2008-06-08T21:13:00.007-05:00

At the end of every semester college students are given forms to fill out to evaluate and rate the instructor and the course. If you ever had to do this you know it is a pain and you are so ready to be done with school that you just scribble something down figuring the instructor isn't going to read it anyway. Well you were wrong. Instructors do read the evaluations. And laugh at them. Then read them to their spouses. And they laugh some more. Jonathan got a significantly higher average score this semester so at least he is improving. Here are some notable things students actually wrote which I thought you'd enjoy.

This one was probably the nicest-

What is your overall rating of this instructor?
5 (on a scale of 1 to 5; 5 being excellent)

What is your overall rating of this course?
5

What was your overall opinion about the strength and weakness of the course?

I really enjoyed the class- I thought that the beginning in the Pre-Socratics made a lot of sense and helped to sort of ground the course. It helped to understand, at least to some degree, the relatively humble beginnings of Greek Philosophy and the heights to which it rose. I wish though we could have spent more time on Aristotle.

What was your overall opinion about the strength and weakness of the instructor?

I really appreciated Mr. Nelson's true desire to impart his knowledge of philosophy to us- his enthusiasm for the subject matter came across despite (or perhaps because of) his wry sense of humor. He was also willing to take questions/comments/arguments in the middle of a lecture and really encouraged participation by asking lots of pertinent questions.

Written comments are very important for improving a course. Please share any additional written comments here:

The time used to cover Plato was well spent- I really enjoyed the material. The breadth of information that had to be covered was staggering and Mr. Nelson did a great job covering it.

I would say this person was sucking up but you can't really suck up if you are anonymous.

This one would have made me cry if it was about me. It's also pretty funny-

What is your overall rating of this instructor?
1
What is your overall rating of this course?
1
What was your overall opinion about the strength and weakness of the course?

The course had great potential, but as we kept on going it kept getting more unorganized.

What was your overall opinion about the strength and weakness of the instructor?

- extremely boring
- shows no enthusiasm to teach
- paces back and forth and teaches nothing
- made me hate philosophy

Wow! Ouch. Could you get any meaner?

This comment sounds like Jonathan all right-

What was your overall opinion about the strength and weakness of the instructor?

Mr. Nelson is crazy. He lives in his own world, but he is very smart, and knows the material very well.

That cutting evaluation got us thinking. What if college professors got to evaluate their students in the same manner? It'd probably be something like-

What is your overall opinion of this students' performance in the course?

Between coming late to class, sleeping through the lecture, and constantly whining about the amount of coursework, this student was lucky to get a C-.

What is your overall opinion of the student?

Considering the complete lack of motivation, irresponsibility, and utter laziness portrayed by this student, how he ever got into college is beyond me.

Well that's the best I could come up with. I'll have to consult Jonathan's expertise on this one.

No this is not mine...

2008-06-04T12:03:00.003-05:00

Remember how I heard the most wonderful news ever about my brother and sister coming to visit? Well, soon after that I got even better news than that, if you can believe it. You may call me AUNTIE Sage from now on....

The Long Version Part IV: My siblings came to visit and we had a marvelous time

2008-05-27T12:50:00.015-05:00

They were supposed to arrive Tuesday night around midnight. I had the house all ready. The carpet was freshly vacuumed, the kitchen and bathroom were sparkling; now all I had to do was head to Wal-Mart to pick up some things and make some "Welcome to St. Louis" bags for my guests. Yep, I had thought of it all. Can you tell I was a little excited to finally have someone come and visit us? But then. Then I got the call. "Sage, don't come and get us tonight. Our connecting flight was delayed. We can't leave tonight or we'll be stuck in Salt Lake. We won't be there until 2:30 pm tomorrow." Oh the crushing blow! The disappointment! I had to wait
another whole day until they got here. How was I going to keep the house clean? What would keep me occupied until then? Now how would we be able to fit in the bazillion things I had planned for us to do? Yes I was horribly disappointed. I had waited and pined for this day, but now their arrival was delayed and I had to wait even longer. I didn't want to cry (I had already cried a lot that day; I won't go into details) so what did I do? I bit my lip and watched Pollyanna to cheer me up.
Well, Wednesday afternoon finally came (I watched Pollyanna again that morning) and after waiting and waiting for them to get off the plane (there was a big thunderstorm and they weren't allowed to get off the plane until it was all cleared up) they finally arrived. The rest of the day we spent laughing and catching up and hugging and crying. Just kidding. You didn't think we were that cheesy did you (not with a thirteen year old boy around anyhow)? I do know that I brushed my brother's hair into a crazy Afro on fire. Observe-

Thursday we went to the Arch and the old Courthouse. I took them into my work and
David said- "Who would ever want to buy any of this crap?"
and I said, "David I pour my life into this place!"
and he said "What? You're JUST a cashier?"
and I said "thanks David. That makes me feel special."

Waiting for the tram up to the arch (notice the haircut)

Two redheads in the tram car the baseball stadium as seen from the top of the arch

the Mississippi river from the top of the arch

Judge David at the old courthouse

Old Courthouse ceiling

Friday we went to the Zoo even though it was a cruddy day (oh yeah did I mention we had the worst weather ever while they were here? It rained 90 percent of the time.) I don't have any pictures because zoo pictures are boring. Actually, I already have pictures of just about every animal at the zoo so I didn't need to take any.

Friday afternoon we drove to Normal, Illinois to see our aunt and uncle and cousins. We stayed the night there and headed back the next morning. I took them out to my old work to eat dinner (and got horrible service; that's what happens when I leave) and then to one of the weirdest and wackiest places in the world, City Museum. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures but you can check out the website here. We had a good time crawling around on our hands and knees.

Sunday we went to church and came home and watched the Goonies. Then we cried and cried because David had to leave. Brooke and I took him to the airport. Then we comforted ourselves by drinking hot cocoa and coffee and then watching Pollyanna (are you getting sick of me talking about that movie yet?)

Monday we went back to the zoo because we hadn't gotten all the way through it the first time. Plus it's free so we can do that. We saw the birds and the monkeys and the reptiles. Brooke wanted to see the hyenas again because they were asleep the first time. They were still asleep.

Then we ate some delicious Vietnamese food at Pho Grand and walked around South Grand a bit to some of the shops. Then we topped the night off with St. Louis' own Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. I could have some more of that right about now please.

Tuesday we went to the Contemporary Art Museum and looked at obnoxiously large and oddly shaped cardboard boxes that were supposedly art. Then we went to the REAL art museum and saw some Egyptian mummy cases and some paintings by some SUPER famous artists. Are you totally impressed yet? We topped the night off with some really nasty Ethiopian food down on South Grand again. (It was solely Brooke and Jonathan's idea- If you live here do not go there; it's not worth it. That is, unless you like Teff i.e. thin, sour, dirt-colored pancake sponges). To get the taste out of our mouths we went to Crown Candy Kitchen and had some delicious Cake Batter ice cream.

Wednesday we enjoyed the beauty of the botanical garden and had an overpriced lunch on the patio while basking in the joy of a rare sunny day. Brooke was leaving that afternoon so she was determined to get me a present to say thank you to me for being a good hostess (i.e. making her sleep on the couch hide-a-bed and dragging her out of bed every morning to go trekking all over the city). She got me some awesome presents for me from the gift shop there. Someday soon I'll have to take a picture of them to show you.
Here are some flowers at the garden-

After that the grand finale of Brooke's St. Louis tour- the Miniature Museum! Something right up her alley. Dollhouses all decorated up with every tiny accessory and minute detail you can imagine. It was quite cool really.
Then we finally had to say goodbye. What I had been waiting for all spring had finally come to an end. We had a lot of fun though and I was ready to say goodbye (Brooke chews crackers in her sleep and is much too cheerful in the morning.)

Sorry about the lack of decent pictures. I hate taking pictures and Jonathan wasn't able to take any either because he was busy grading final exams for most of the time they were here.

The Long Version Part III: I watched Polyanna three times

2008-05-27T12:32:00.003-05:00

I have not been slacking on blogging again, honest. I had all intentions of updating every day to get through this boring Long Version saga, but I broke our computer. The only way I am updating this now is the use of my school's computer lab. Hopefully our computer will be up and running soon.... or we are in trouble. This also will explain why I will not be posting any pictures today.
So on to Part III. I love Polyanna. If you have not watched that movie you better go watch it right now. If you are ever feeling sad all you need to do is pop in this flick and watch it a few times. Your heart will be warmed and your eyes will be brightened. I was getting anxious for my brother and sister to get her so to pass the time I watched Polyanna. then I found out that their flight was coming in late, so I watched it again to comfort myself. Then my sister came and I made her watch it with me once again (even though she has probably seen it as many times as I have). So that is the story of why I watched the movie Polyanna three times. Now I am feeling like I could go watch it again...

The Long Version Part II: I survived the end of the semester

2008-05-21T22:54:00.007-05:00

I cut it pretty close the last week of class, I admit. I had three presentations due, two papers (albeit short ones), and two enormous projects (basically just really long papers), all due in one week. Wednesday of that week, I had two papers and a presentation due which I hadn't even started. I typed most of one of the papers before class. Then I went to class, taught a lesson to my classmates (this one I had prepared in advance) went down to the library and finished typing up the paper and accompanying PowerPoint presentation, then turned it in and gave the presentation all within in a matter of about 40 minutes. Then I went to Northwest Coffee, drank down an iced Americano and got started on my next essay. I somehow finished it up before class. The next day, Thursday, I spent writing a huge project that I hadn't started on even though it was due Friday. Unfortunately I had to go to work on Friday, so I would have to turn it in before I went to work. Well I worked all day and night, had to go to bed, woke up and worked on it some more and still hadn't gotten it done. It ended up that I had to call my boss and ask her if I could be a little late to work. So I hurried and finished it up, went to school, printed it off, turned it in, and got to work only 45 minutes late and worked an eight hour shift. Blech. It was not a fun day. Then the next week I had finals but they were not too bad and then I was free from the craziest and zaniest semester ever. Yay! So to hurry up and end this horribly boring story.... I got my grades last week and managed to pull of all A's- 4.0 for eighteen credits. Not bad if I say so myself. Really though, I couldn't have done it without God's grace or the help of my wonderful, patient, and encouraging husband. Check back tomorrow for the
Long Version Part III: I watched Polyanna three times in one week. (and want to watch it again)

The Long Version Part I: We did not get the green couch/We bought a new couch

2008-05-20T22:45:00.011-05:00

Before I start this story let's get one thing straight: I don't say sofa. It's too snobby. That's all.

When we moved here almost three years ago... (oh my could it be three years already?) we left our couch behind for several reasons-
- more space in the moving trailer without it
- we weren't terribly attached to it
- it was plaid
- we got it for free anyway
- we passed it onto some newly married friends who needed a free couch just like we had a couple years earlier

Thus, when we arrived here in St. Louis, Misery, we had no couch. After spending just about all of our savings on the expenses of moving half-way across the country and Jonathan's first semester of graduate school (I am not sure when we will ever be so rich again that month before we moved and had that amount of cash in our savings.. ah those were the days... just kidding... being poor is fun!) we didn't have a whole lot of extra money to spend on things like a new couch (like brand-new from a store). So we looked around, scoured newspaper ads (this was before I knew about Craigslist, apparently) and somehow ended up in a scary part of town at some junky used furniture place called Kathy and Son's or something like that. They had an old-fashioned, the kind you would find in your great-grandmother's house, couch with wood legs and everything and it was a lovely greenish-goldish color with a pretty flower pattern. I probably have a picture of it somewhere but I am too lazy too look. Heck maybe there is a picture of it on this very blog- that's a challenge, readers!
Anyway, it wasn't it in the best of shape. The cushion covers were ripped on one side and it stunk like an antique store or St. Vincent's, but it was comfortable (Jonathan is extremely picky about furniture comfort) and it was 80 bucks. What could we do but take it home? (with the help of Kathy and Sons.)

Unfortunately, and not surprisingly, the couch didn't hold up long. The foam in the cushions was aged so badly it was that nasty dark orange color old foam becomes, and the rips in the cushion covers were getting bigger. And bigger. And bigger. We still didn't have the money for a new couch (or the time to look for one) So what did I do? I took an old bed comforter (that consequently itself was ripped on one side) and fashioned it into a cover for the couch. This was a good temporary fix. It looked decent and made the couch usable again. However as most couch covers have the tendency to do, it never wanted to stay in place, and me being the obsessive compulsive person I am, was constantly re-adjusting the thing to the point that I wouldn't even let Jonathan sit on it because he always mussed it up. So for a long, long, time I wished and longed for a couch I could just curl up on without messing it up and that was actually comfortable (the couch cushions were so worn out they were no longer comfortable). However, we still didn't have the time or money to get a new one so we just dealt with it.

Then it just so happened, my brother and sister were coming to town, and there was no way I was going to have a cruddy old couch around with company in the house. It was also looking especially cruddy lately because I had gotten fed up with the constant readjusting and took off the blanket and just taped up the big rips with many a layer of packaging tape. Nice. So I started looking on Craigslist (that's where I found the awesome green one, it just wasn't as great in person as it was in the photo); I looked especially for a couch with a hide-a-bed (no, not a
sofa sleeper; still too snobby) since that would come in handy with company coming (we don't have a guest bed or an air mattress), but to no avail. Not finding anything used, I tried the furniture outlet store Weekends Only, but I had no such luck, and it was just a couple days before my siblings would be here. On the way home from Weekends Only I saw Value City Furniture* and decided to stop and check it out. They had a much better selection and a few couches I liked so I dragged Jonathan back the next day. After sitting on just about every couch in the store we finally decided on a plain, brown (or is it grey?) suede (or is it faux?) hide-a-bed couch that looks like just about any other new couch. It doesn't look as cool as our old one did and it isn't the old fashioned style you find in your great-grandmother's house, but it's comfy and new and our second major furniture purchase, so we better just like it. Honestly though, I really do like it. I have already spent many an hour curled up on it watching movies and the telly, reading good books, or just spending time with Jonathan.
If you are are asleep you can wake up now. That's the end of Part I: We did not get the green couch/We bought a new couch (like brand-new from a store!) Check back soon for the next big snoozer- The Long Version Part II: I survived the end of the semester.
p.s. If you are wondering what happened to our old couch; don't ask. It's too sad.
*Those of you who know of Value City Furniture, please do not tell us that they are a rip-off or that they sell high-priced, low quality crap. We don't want to know. It's too late to take it back.

Update- the short version

2008-05-19T18:28:00.008-05:00

Jonathan is threatening to cancel our internet service if I don't update this thing so I thought I better get back into blogging. To make up for my prolonged absence I have prepared a long, enthralling, and yet entertaining post to catch you up on all the gory details of my boring existence. First of all I'll give the shortened version for those of you are easily bored.

1. We did not get the ugly green couch.

2. I survived the end of the semester.

3. We bought a new couch (like brand-new from a store!)

4. I watched Polyanna three times in one week.

5. I chopped my hair off, much to my husband's dismay.

6. My siblings (or Kids as Jonathan called them) ventured to Saint Louis and we had an awesomely wonderful time.

7. Jonathan survived the end of his semester (and got off the computer finally so I could update this danged thing)

8. We are now enjoying a short break from work and school in which I've been spending my time reading on the new couch and cooking new meals.

I am slowly but surely working on the long version so check back soon! (hopefully later today)

Help- Opinion Wanted

2008-04-22T08:45:00.004-05:00

Am I nuts?

I want this couch.

Look- it would match a chair we already have perfectly-

(it's behind that weird girl on the left)

EARTHQUAKE!!!!

2008-04-18T13:42:00.003-05:00

I am not quite back into blogging yet but this was worthy enough to take a break from school and blog about. I stayed up until 230 am working on this big project that is due on Tuesday. I went to bed and eventually fell asleep, but not more than two hours later Jonathan and I jump out of bed from being startled awake by a loud noise and the house shaking. We were both confused and didn't know what happened so we looked out the window. I asked Jonathan "was that an earthquake?" but he just rolled over and went to sleep. My initial reaction was that it was an earthquake, but I didn't think that earthquakes made loud noise. So I sat there, heart racing from being woken up so suddenly, trying to figure out what just happened. I thought maybe a bomb went off somewhere or our upstairs neighbor was jumping up and down really hard. As soon as I woke up a few hours later, I asked Jonathan what it was and to check the Internet and see what happened. I told him I thought for sure it was an earthquake but he didn't believe me. He said he didn't even know that our whole house was shaking! Our Internet was down so I turned on the news- and there it was -5.2 earthquake in Illinois. (you can read more about it here)
"Hah! I told you so! I knew it was an earthquake!," I screamed at Jonathan.

Okay I know that most people figured it out right away (it doesn't take a genius to figure out that when your whole house is shaking, something is going down; to my credit though I was asleep) but I am just a small-town Idaho girl. We don't have tornadoes or floods or ginormous thunderstorms or earthquakes or any of the rest of the crazy stuff that goes on here in the Midwest.
So there you go. My first earthquake. Thankfully it didn't cause much damage or hurt anyone (so far as I know)
p.s. I was talking to my friends at school about it- they all thought it was Jesus coming back and were listening for the trumpet :)
p.s. I am sorry that I got your hopes up last post about Jonathan coming back as a guest writer. I don't know what happened to that guy. I may have to kick him off as punishment.

Don't Give up on Me Yet

2008-03-28T19:54:00.002-05:00

I am still here. I am doing lots and lots of school work. I have two very big projects due and lots more due in April. The good news is-
1. I only have four weeks of school left!
2. My brother and sister got their tickets and they are coming to visit me in May!
3. Jonathan hinted towards returning as a guest writer to take my place, so stay tuned....

2008-03-14T20:56:00.007-05:00

Although it may seem like I have given up on this poor sad little blog, I haven't really totally given up on it (yet). To be honest writing a blog post has been the absolute last thing I have felt like doing lately. Don't get me wrong though, I still like to read everybody else's wonderfully entertainable enjoyable blogs, because reading is a heck of a lot easier than trying to think of something coherent to write. But, I feel bad. It isn't very fair of me to read Alicia's, and Mandy's and Kelly's blog everyday when they never get to read anything new on mine. So this is my attempt to write something wonderful and entertaining and enjoyable. NOT. I am just going to write and not worry about making it entertaining. Okay NOT again. I might actually make it a little bit enjoyable or a tiny bit funny... but only because it might just happen on accident since I am naturally that kind of writer. Okay now I am just making myself laugh. I am moving on...
Instead of boring you with all the reasons why writing blogs has been the last thing on my mind I will tell you some things that I never told you because I forgot and I haven't been putting much of an effort into this thing.

First of all, when we got back from Christmas vacation I got a promotion at work. They offered me a summer-time supervisor position which of course I took. Basically, since summer time is the "on" busy season they need another supervisor so they have one just for Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. So I won't be a supervisor until then and I'll go back to my regular position once summer is over. However, I'll be working a lot more and I'll get a raise which means a lot more money! Yay! A lot more money to pay off all the bills we are accumulating Yay! I am a teeny bit nervous about the position since most of the summer-time workers are in high school and college and they have been working there 10 times longer than I have. It's always a bit awkward when you get promoted over someone who has been there longer than you have (and knows more than you do about the job). However, I have gone through it before, back when I worked at Nadoz. And it sucked. Because a particular employee there was not happy about it when I had been there three months and I got a supervisor position after she had been there almost two years. It was pretty much awful. Thankfully (for me, not for her) she eventually got fired and my life got a lot easier.
But this workplace is a heck of a lot more stable and reasonable and sane so I think my promotion will go considerably more smooth than at that crazy place I jused to work at.

Second of all, did you know I learned to crochet several months ago? Well here is the story. I have this wonderful afghan that my grandma and aunt Linda gave me when I was a kid. When I got married Jonathan grew fond of this afghan. So much so that he continually claimed that it was his afghan and that his grandmother made it for him. I would not let this stand though because it is the best blanket we have for keeping me warm at night during the winter time, so I refused to let Jonathan steal my afghan, even though he deeply longed for it to be his. Well, I started my new job and one of my co worker's is Betsy. Betsy crochets everyday at lunch. When I happened to take my lunch at the same time as she I noticed this and realized she was working on an afghan. The idea came to me that maybe, just maybe, I could learn to crochet and make Jonathan an afgahn for Christmas and it would be just about the best darn Christmas present ever. So I hounded Betsy to teach me to crochet too, (just kidding I didn't have to hound her, she was more than happy to show me), bought a crochet hook and some yarn and after a couple weeks finally got the hang of it. Remember how I wanted to make an entire afghan by Christmas (I started in November)? Ha ha in your dreams, Sage. It took me over a month to get it to be one foot wide. I was going to secretly crochet it for Jonathan so it would be a big surprise but it was too hard to find time to do it when he was not around (Really he is always home! He rarely leaves this house). So I just crocheted away and wouldn't tell him what I was making. At Christmas time I told him what his future Christmas present was. Of course it wasn't as good completely surprising him with a wonderful afghan made especially by his wife who he didn't even know could crochet, but it was the best I could do. Well now it's March 14, the weather is getting warm and pretty soon it will be 80 degrees with 1000% humidity, and guess what? I am still crocheting away on that darned afghan! By the time I get the thing done Jonathan will be wearing shorts and begging me to let him turn the air conditioner on. Seriously though, I am very close to being done and am pleased with my recent progress on it, I am just annoyed with my horrible timing. I will definitely put up a picture of it when it is finished so you can see my beautiful handiwork. Well... beautiful in Jonathan's eyes anyhow.

Third of all, second week of May right after I am through with school for the summer...
My brother and sister are coming to visit me!
And I am 78% positive this time!!!
Isn't that the best thing you've ever read on this sorry little blog! I really can't wait. I wish I could just sit around and day-dream about the fun and the wonderfully fantastic time we are going to have (if you remember right, I did that last summer when I wrote up an entire itinerary for us to do when I thought my sister was coming to visit) but unfortunately I have to go study for a test and do a million other things. And that is also why I must end this post for now. Have I written enough to redeem myself yet?

p.s. if you made it this far, congratulations!
p.s.s check out Alicia's post about a recent object lesson she experienced. it's a great post with a great message and a good reminder. (and some beautiful pictures). click here to read it. And you you better read it or I'll tell to sick her five hundred dogs on you (or maybe it's just three... I can't remember).

Another Snow Day

2008-03-04T08:30:00.007-06:00

I know everyone says that the weather wherever they live is weird. But I tell you, St. Louis weather is weird! I guess weather is just weird in general. Sunday it got up to 78 degrees. A lovely, lovely day. Jonathan and I took the opportunity to get out and feel the sunshine and went to hike along the Meramec river in Castlewood state park.

Today (Tuesday) it looks like this from my front step outside-

This is the fourth (I think) snow day we have had in the past couple months. I like snow and all but this is starting to get a little old, especially when everything shuts down and I can't go anywhere and everything is cancelled. Wait a second, am I complaining about getting to stay home, drink coffee, and watch the snow come down? Never mind. Forget I said anything.

On another note, this was the second week in the row we got out of the house (and the city) if you can believe it. Last Sunday we went to see eagles over in Illinois along the Mississippi. Apparently they nest there in the spring or something. We saw tons of eagles but not up close because we didn't have any binoculars. We also saw pelicans. A lot of pelicans. I had no idea pelicans lived around the Mississippi. I thought pelicans only lived along the ocean. You learn something new every day. I liked watching the pelicans swim on the water. See for yourself-

That video took forever to load. I am off to drink that coffee...

And the Winner Is.......

2008-02-19T21:03:00.003-06:00

Kelly!!!!!

claim your prize by e-mailing me your mailing address @

freshparsley@yahoo.com

Congratulations on winning the

100th Post/1 Year Blogiversary Celebration contest!!

and to the losers: sorry, you'll just have to try again next year

A Double Celebration

2008-02-15T08:34:00.012-06:00

Happy 1- year Blogiversary/100th Post!!!!!!

To celebrate I am giving you all a recipe and a chance to win a fabulous prize.

Sometimes I think there is nothing better than a chocolate chip cookie fresh out of the oven with a big glass of cold milk. That's why I wanted to share my best ever chocolate chip cookie recipe with you. Because truly they are the best ever. I have tried many a recipe trying to find the perfect choc-chip cookie. Then I married Jonathan. He won't settle for anything less than a soft, chewy cookie, and that's all that was made in his family. It took awhile for him to convince me, but I finally caught on- his family's recipe is the only way to go. So here it is- go make these and your family and friends will be begging for more.

Nelson's Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies.

1/2 cup margarine (has to be margarine, not butter)

1/2 cup shortening (once again, no substitutes here people)

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

12 oz chocolate chips

I think you know the drill from here, but just to make sure- mix the dry ingredients together. blend the fats and sugars together in a separate bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture with the fat mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips. Scoop onto cookie sheets and bake at 375 degrees for 8-9 minutes or until they are light brown around the edges. (don't overbake or you'll be sorry!) Word to the wise: you can beat the heck out of the fats and sugars, but for pete's sake after that, take it easy! Don't over-mix after you add the eggs and flour mixture. Just mix it until everything has been blended in.

Don't worry about all my naggy little instructions, I think you will be pleased no matter what.

Now for the fabulous prize. The prize is this brand new cookie scoop-

The reason it is fabulous is because it makes your cookie making experience so much more enjoyable. First of all it allows you to get perfectly shaped, rounded cookies that are all the same size easily and effortlessly. Secondly, if you want fresh out of the oven chocolate chip cookies every day just bake however many cookies you can eat or want, and then simply use your handy scoop to scoop the rest of the cookie dough into a tupperware. Separate the layers of balls of dough with wax paper so they doesn't stick together. Stick the tupperware in the freezer, and viola- A couple nights from now when the craving hits just pull out a couple of dough balls, stick them on a cookie sheet, and by the time the oven heats up your dough will be ready to bake. Isn't that great?

Thirdly, the scoop is handy for getting other sticky things out easily. Like sourcream, refried beans, muffin/cupcake batter, peanut butter, the list goes on and on people!

So either go buy a cookie scoop- or.... try your hand at winning this one. Simply leave a comment on this post by 8 o'clock central Tuesday night. Then I'll put every commenter's name in a hat and draw the winner. Good Luck!

Sage Says...

2008-02-14T22:07:00.006-06:00

1. Happy Valentine's Day

2. Don't forget to check back tomorrow for a bloggin' fun time!

I'm a scratcher, picker, puller, poker

2008-02-12T14:04:00.000-06:00

I decided to blog because I drank so much coffee (six cups) that I'm too buzzed to do any more homework. The other alternative would be to sleep it off but I don't want to waste time and besides I haven't blogged in forever.
Some random thoughts-
I am compuslive. I can't let things be.
If I have a scab, I pick it.
If I have any sort of loose skin I pull it and pick at it until it comes off.
If I have a zit I pick it, squeeze it, or pop it until it is bloody.
If I have any type of sore in my mouth I poke it with my tongue so that it takes forever to heal.
The skin on my thumbs are constantly suffering attacks from my fingernails.
Mosquito bites are scratched until they scab over.
If I have dry skin on my scalp I scratch it until I am covered with dandruff.

Currently my compulsive picking/pulling/scratching behaviors are:
- a sore on my gums right in between two of my teeth which I can't stop poking with my tongue and my fingernails (it's driving me crazy)
- a scab on my right middle finger that I have had for three weeks because I have picked it off three times; even though I have been scratching at it I have resisted picking it all the way off again
- hanging skin on my left thumb that I am trying to leave be. My right thumb is in surprisingly good condition.

I don't know what it is about pain. The pain of any sore just makes me want to make it worse. It's weird, I know. Stress only makes it worse. I pick at my thumbs the most when I am nervous or uneasy or stressed or bored or irritated. Sometimes I just do it without thinking. So if you want to know how I am doing just look at the skin around my thumbnails. Normal thumbs mean I am pretty normal. Red, swollen and scabbed mean I'm not so good.
Just thought you all would like to know my disgustingly bad habits.

Why this is only the 4th post for all of January

2008-01-31T10:55:00.000-06:00

I started school right after we got home from Christmas vacation. I am taking 8 classes which add up to 18 credits-
Science Methods
Social Studies Methods
Math Methods
Intro to Spanish
PE Methods
US History
Practicum
Testing and Measurement

I have been busy. I have missed sharing my life with all of you. We have no food. I need to go grocery shopping before it snows.
That is all.

American Gladiators

2008-01-15T20:04:00.000-06:00

When Sage first told me that she had a blog and wanted me to look at it I got real worried and said, "Okay, honey, I guess I will but shouldn't you make an appointment and have your doctor look at it? I would have no idea what to look for. Where is it anyway?" Now that I figured out what a blog is she wants me to be a guest writer from time to time. I am not the kind of person that tries something again after failing the first time so this may be my first and last attempt. I guess I will share with the 6 billion people on this planet what has been on my mind for the last several weeks.

When my siblings and I were younger we watched American Gladiators, a television game show in which "ordinary Americans" compete against steroid abominations vaguely resembling humans - but lacking cognitive and communicative faculties - in grueling and violent events designed to test strength, stamina, and the will to survive. The show came on sometime after midnight on Thursday and since we had to be in bed by 8 on weeknights we would record it and watch it the next day. This show was great for my family because the six of us kids rarely did anything at all together but we all watched this show. Not only did we watch it, though, we also played it. Back then there were somewhere around 25 different events and some of them were pretty creative. For one event - called "Human Cannonball" - the contenders (the "normal Americans") would stand on the top of a thirty-foot tall pedestal towering over a small body of water. They would wear a helmet, some body armor and carry a shield. About 40 yards or so away, on an even higher pedestal, a Gladiator would start. He or she would swing on a rope towards the contender and try to knock the contender off the pedestal and into the water. If the Gladiator succeeded the contender would score no points; if the contender managed to stay on the pedestal, she would score ten points. That is a game that every kid wants to play and so we did. Dad had tied a few garden hoses to some of the higher tree branches in our elm out back and we would climb them and swing from them. He had also brought home a large wooden spool from work that must have been used for some sort of wire or hosing. We would use that for the contender's pedestal and a tall ladder for the Gladiator's. One of us kids would stand up on that spool holding an old couch cushion as a shield while another one of us would grab the hose and climb up to the top of the ladder that we set up twenty or so feet away, and then leap off of the ladder and plummet through the air towards the contender on the spool, trying to knock them off. Needless to say I was by far the best of us all at this game (even though I got hurt a lot I never cried or broke any bones, which is more than any of my siblings can say).
Not only did American Gladiators get us kids watching tv and playing together, it was also educational. If it weren't for American Gladiators I would have no idea how to program a VCR such that it records a show even when I am not in the room (I don't even have to be home--maybe sometime I will post instructions so you can do the same thing). I still put that skill to use every Thursday and it's a good thing I can do it because Sage cannot. The other invaluable tidbit I picked up from American Gladiators was the meaning of the term "cruisin' for a bruisin'". When I read a TVGuide article about the show and the caption underneath the picture of the gladiators used that phrase I went directly to my older brother to ask him what it meant. His answer was less than satisfactory so I asked my mom, whose answer was a little better but only because she didn't call me stupid. Then I had to ask Dad but I still could not quite get it. Actually, I am still thinking about it. Education is more about asking questions than answering them anyway, right?
The real point is that NBC recently brought back American Gladiators. Here is the link: http://www.nbc.com/American_Gladiators/
I was ecstatic when I first saw the preview for the glorious return of my favorite reality show of all time so I bought a new pack of VHS tapes and set the VCR to record Thursday at midnight. Much to my surprise, however, it's new time slot is in prime time! Every time I saw that preview come on for the next two weeks I jumped up and growled like a Gladiator, overwhelmed with excitement and emotion. But when I watched the premier I just could not get into it the way I used to. For one thing there are only 10 events now, and only one of those was a favorite from back when. That event is Gauntlet. If I can figure this blog thing out, you can watch a video right here.

You have to admit that that looks like fun. At least, that's what I kept telling Sage when she refused to play it with me in the hallway. Finally I convinced her. She was the contender and I was the Gladiator. I gave her 30 seconds to get from one end of the hall to other, with me doing absolutely everything in my power to keep her from making it. She never stood a chance. Even though she lost the event I decided I would let her become a Gladiator. Perhaps you all could help her choose a Gladiator name. Here are the names of the current female Gladiators: Venom, Crush, Siren, Stealth, Hellga, and Fury. I am thinking that either Tantrum or Banshee would fit Sage well but she is also open to your suggestions. By the way, the male Gladiator names are: Justice, Mayhem, Titan, Wolf, Toa, and Militia; mine is Professor Pain.

Tid-Bits

2008-01-10T22:10:00.000-06:00

These are the kids I tutored this past semester at the Christmas tutoring party we had. I tried to take a picture of them together, but this is what happened-

So instead I had Alex take a picture of Zavier and me-

And Zavier take a picture of Alex and me-

See what happens when you let kids use the camera?
I really enjoyed working with these two. Zavier is a feisty little fellow but he always made me laugh. Alex is a sweet girl but she's got some feistiness in her as well. Unfortunately my school schedule won't allow me to tutor this semester. I am really bummed about that. I think it is such a wonderful and important ministry that I am hoping I can still be apart of it somehow.

Here are some more Christmas pictures, as promised. We really did a poor job this year. We hardly took any pictures, and the ones we have aren't that great. Quite pathetic really.

My dad trying to stop David from doing something crazy- a typical position for them, believe it or not-

Trying to beat my cousin Becca at Pick up Sticks

Taboo!!! We played this for a very long time.

Sister-in-law Jennie and me

My mother-in- law opening presents at one of the many Christmases we had.

A long standing tradition is Christmas Eve up in the mountains at Jonathan's grandparents' cabin. They had lots of snow and it was also snowing while we were there. It was so pretty that I made Jonathan go out and capture some of the beauty.

Granddad preparing the fire for the hotdogs. Yep that's right, no ham or turkey for Christmas dinner, it's hotdogs, potato salad, beans, and chips and dip at this cabin.

We left on New Year's Eve, but we still wanted to celebrate together, so we had a one-day early New Year's Eve party at my parent's house. It was a lot of fun- we had family come from all different sides- Nelsons, Burkharts, Wilsons, etc...

Partying heartily-

My sister graduated with a Master of Fine Arts while we were there. We went to her graduation and then out to eat. Her reward was this big mountain of ice cream. Of course I had to come get a bite.

Did I mention we love Christmas lights? We have some around each our living room windows, in our kitchen, in Jonathan's office, and a strand on each of the windows in our bedroom. Jonathan won't turn them off at night either so I wake up with sore eyes.

That's about all I can take right now folks, and I am sure you are thinking the same thing. So I will sign off for now.

Christmas

2008-01-05T20:07:00.001-06:00

It all went by so fast I don't think I'll be able to remember enough to write about it. We spent almost two weeks in Idaho eating, sleeping, playing games, talking, shopping, opening presents, eating, sleeping, and oh yeah we ate and slept a lot. Hey, it was our vacation! We got to see a whole lot of friends and family. We saw even more than usual because my mom's brother and sister came to visit along with their families. We were really spoiled with presents since we had about four Christmases- one with Jonathan's dad's side of the family, one with Jonathan's mom's side of the family, one with my mom's side of the family and one with my dad's side of the family. Now do you see why we ate so much? We had a lot of fun. My pictures are limited since half of them we left on Jonathan's mom's computer. I'll post more when I can.

My brother and me, who by the way is taller than me now.

Four beautiful ladies- right to left: Cousin Brittany, Sister Brooke, me, Cousin Kaylen (sister to Brittany)

The family photo

Greetings from Idaho

2007-12-19T21:07:00.000-06:00

We arrived safely in Idaho yesterday afternoon. We will be here until New Year's Eve. I have been so neglectful of this blog though I thought I could update while I am here even though the majority of my readers have me in person now. Maybe the cyber me is cooler. Do you love the cyber me or the real me? Where does the real me end and the cyber me begin? Or is it the other way around? Is there a cyber me or did I just make it up to sound cool? While I have your attention I'll take this opportunity to whine and complain. I don't do it often but I think I should be able to do so once in awhile. It's my blog after all. So Jonathan was finally done with school on Thursday night. I had work off Saturday, Sunday and Monday so I had lots of fun things planned for us to do alone together before we went to Idaho to be surrounded by crazy people. But Saturday morning I woke up with a cold probably given to me by Jonathan. We still managed to have some fun and play our fantasy board game, Runebound, for hours and hours. Sunday Jonathan and I still felt sick so we ended up sleeping most of the day. After I woke up from my nap I made a sandwich with some leftover rotisserie chicken and ate it. Then I got a really bad stomach ache and it didn't go away until 2 am after I had thrown up all of the sandwich (it took two times to get it all out). Note to self: DON'T EAT WEEK OLD CHICKEN. Naturally, on Monday I was pretty worn out and still sick from the cold and had an uneasy stomach. But we had to get everything ready for our trip. It took us all day long to clean the house and get packed because I was so tired. Jonathan had to grade tests as well. Yep he gave a killer final exam; the average grade was 76%, which he thinks is way too high. His first semester of teaching is now over. Anyway we didn't get to have any fun on Monday either. Tuesday we woke up at 4 am to catch our flight on time. I think I am finally over the cold but my nose is driving me crazy because it is itching so bad and the skin on it is raw from blowing it so much. Okay that's it. No more whining. That was probably the most boring paragraph I've ever written. Thanks for reading!!!

Here is my poor sick mother-in-law. She can hardly talk she is so sick.

This is my sister in law Jennie with her beloved dog Merlin. Jennie is a rare breed of Nelson since the Nelson tradition is to despise all dogs. I don't know why this text is linked but it's annoying.

This is my brother-in-law James who is graciously letting me use his awesome Macbook to type this. Laptops are fun!

My Favorite Christmas Treat

2007-12-13T22:03:00.000-06:00

Sugar Coooooookies!!!

Note: they must be thick and soft with lots of yummy frosting. None of those thin crunchy cookies for me!

Cookies in the decorating process

Annika seeing what she was missing during her nap.

Mandy debating between feeding Joseph and decorating more cookies

The finished product

Kay-Gee

2007-12-06T23:02:00.000-06:00

I love these folks, I really do. After two years of living in St. Louis, Misery, I finally feel like we truly belong somewhere...

With our Kingdom Group

(Mandy- you don't have a copyright on this photo do you?)

p.s. nine more posts until the 100th Post Contest, details to come

God, the Lord of All (including electronics)

2007-12-05T11:49:00.000-06:00

So last week I turned on the digital camera and the LCD screen was all white. That's it, just a white screen. I didn't drop the camera or anything, it just happened all the sudden. It still took photos, but you couldn't see them. What's the point of a digital camera if you can't see the pictures you take? Of course I felt pretty devastated. I don't take pictures much myself of course, but it has gotten to be Jonathan's livelihood, and we aren't in any position to buy a new digital camera either. I prayed and asked God that the camera would get fixed somehow- God is the God of electronics even, right?
Anyway, I started to think that if we asked for money for Christmas maybe we could afford to buy a new one, so I looked up digital cameras on Amazon and there are all over 150$, which is just too much. Then, I think maybe it can be fixed somehow, even though I have no idea how. I go to google and type in "digital camera LCD screen broken", click on one of the sites and it takes me to some "Fixya" website that has a listing of electronic products. I look up our exact camera, and guess what- several other people have had the same problem. The solutions given are rather weird and I'm not sure what they mean, but they all say something like- "hit the Cybershot logo on the camera." I think to myself, okay whatever, and hit the logo on the camera, turn it on, and viola! the screen now works. I can hardly believe my eyes.

God answers even the smallest prayers and can fix everything from our hearts to our digital cameras.

Exciting things I did while away from Blog world

2007-12-02T23:45:00.000-06:00

got my first catering job (I made 120 ginger cookies for a friend's club meeting and got paid for it. This made me very happy)

learned two crochet stitches

went to two public library locations 10 times in one week and checked out fifty books (I now owe over three dollars in library fines)

made and decorated a cake from scratch

started decorating for Christmas

kicked, cried, and screamed (stress does this to a person)
got airline tickets to Idaho for Christmas using mother's credit card.

Wrote papers and lesson plans, final exams, art projects, and on and on and on....

That's all I can think of right now. My life is so boring. Yet you keep on reading...

Why it stinks to live more than a day's drive away

2007-12-02T23:41:00.000-06:00

You miss your great grandma's 100th birthday.
You miss your great grandma's funeral.

Great Grandma Hochstetler

2007-11-30T22:30:00.000-06:00

August 1906- November 28, 2007

Last year on her 100th birthday.

One-hundred-and-one years old. Last thing she asked for was a Dr. Pepper. Surprising? Nope.

Blog Break Continued...

2007-11-18T16:02:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to let you all know that I am still alive. But I can't come back to blog world yet, and I apologize. I am still under a pile of books and papers. I'll come back as soon as I can. Thank you for your faithfulness.

5k and still alive

2007-11-10T21:55:00.000-06:00

I ran my first race today and survived. My friend Karen has a friend who was recently diagnosed with Lymphoma, so when she heard about this 5 and 10k race to cure Lymphoma she recruited me and four other girls from our church (and her husband Karl) to run with her.

The cons were: I got up at 6 am on a Saturday, ran 3.2 miles in the cold, got 74th place (out of 101), and got sore muscles. The pros were: I had a good time with my friends, I got free stuff and free food, I contributed to a good cause, I achieved a personal goal, and I got a "bronze" medal for placing third in my gender/age bracket. I'd say the pros outweigh the cons :)

Here I am with the rest of the girls ( lt-rt: Amanda, Sarah, Karen, and Elisa). You can tell they are all actual runners, unlike me. They all did the 10k and I was super impressed with their hard work and endurance.

Me at the "award ceremony"

Slightly embarrassed for getting a medal for running a slow 10:32/mile race.

Karen is convinced the race will motivate/inspire me to keep running and to join more races.

We will see Karen, we will see....

Blog Break

2007-11-03T21:28:00.000-05:00

Give me a break; give me a break; break me off a piece of that...

I need a short break from blogging to catch up on school work. Thank you for your patience.
I'll be back sooner than later.

100 years late

2007-10-30T21:38:00.000-05:00

Thanks to those of you (Alicia & Brooke) who voted at the Vote For Your Favorite Poll, your photo won by an overwhelming two votes to one*. The one vote was mine, which doesn't count, so technically everyone voted for the first photo. Anyway, hope you still like it now that it's actually up there. I am totally uninspired blog wise. I don't have any pets or kids or plants (anymore) to be inspired by or take pictures of. You know from experience I can't put up pictures of myself.

The photos I posted, which are of some of the most unsightly parts of St. Louis, are part of a collection that Jonathan took which he calls "100 years late" in reference to when the city was at its grandest during the 1904 World's Fair. I wanted to put one at the top of my blog to represent my title/description. There are many beautiful places in Saint Louis, but also many not so beautiful places, which is a bit depressing, but such as life. Anyway, as I was looking through them for my blog I could hardly decide which ones to consider because there are many cool ones to choose from. Therefore I will post some more for you to look at and then you can be relieved of my rambling.... Enjoy.

*This just in... another voter, Kelly, for the second photo. So I guess it's 2-1 now :)

Comment to Vote

2007-10-28T14:11:00.001-05:00

The Blog Poll thing I put at the end of yesterday's post sucks. So if you want to vote and it's not working, please just leave a comment.
Thanks.

Vote For Your Favorite

2007-10-27T22:05:00.000-05:00

I was getting bored of my blog's "look". There are so many choices to choose from for blog layouts I want to try them all. Also I wanted to put a photo at the top. Below are five photos I am trying to decide between. Obviously it is hard to know what it will look like without seeing it at the top, but give it your best guess. All of these pictures are taken around St. Louis by Jonathan. View them all and vote at the end! I won't guarantee that I'll pick the most popular, but it sounds like fun anyway.

The Procastination Gene

2007-10-25T22:46:00.000-05:00

Does anybody else have this gene? This week I was swamped with a ton of homework that I have been putting off all semester. And I am going to be swamped until the first week of December. That is why I have not been a faithful blogger. Excuses excuses... I know.

I don't have anything interesting going on in my life right now. Hence I will write about house plants. In fact, I will charm you with a poem instead. Even better.

Ode to House Plants
My heart has been broken six times
obssesive crush in 7th grade
one christmas bonsai
one valentine day orchid
one birthday orchid
one jade
and now the sago palm
oh why do you torture me so?
I bought you
I adored you
I loved you
I watered you
I sunned you
And this is how you repay me
Into the trash you now must go

Ode to the Plant Killer
Why do you even bother?
Six down
Three to go
find a new hobby

Is plant killing a gene too?

2nd Day

2007-10-18T21:43:00.001-05:00

The second day on the job wasn't too bad. It certainly has been the easiest start to a new job I have ever had. Usually the first few weeks I go home crying (or maybe that was just that devil place Nadoz; I had a horrible start there). But I haven't cried yet, which is a good sign. Everyone is really nice and so are the customers. I seem to be catching on pretty well therefore that always helps. I even count back change! It's harder than it looks, especially for a dumb blond like me.

If you think of it, please pray for our home church, New Hope Baptist, which has been experiencing a lot of loss the past couple weeks. Each week they send us a bulletin with prayer requests, and this week I read that Julie Piper, a wife of one of the pastors of the area Baptist churches died. Also, two members of New Hope died, Shirley Bentsen, and Mason Jenkins. Shirley Bentsen was an older lady who was always so nice to us and helpful to everyone. I heard about Mason from Alicia's blog. Mason was only three years old and suffered from Hurler's Syndrome. You can learn more about him here.

P.S. Thank-you to you commenters for taking the time. All your comments on the last post made my day!

The Job

2007-10-17T22:09:00.001-05:00

The inevitable happened. We ran out of money. At about the same time we ran out of money, I

decided that none of my clothes fit properly and that I hate them all. I rampaged my closet in

fits of anger, shoving into a box all the clothes that make me feel uncomfortable when I wear them. What was left in my closet and dresser drawers were gaps and holes needing to be filled. Having no money and no clothes that met my expectations, I decided I better get a job. And that's what I did. I am now an official employee of the Jefferson National Parks Association, more specifically and better known as, the Gateway Arch. The arch has two stores. The Museum Store is like a souvenir store, but different in that its purpose is to educate. Therefore, you will not find shot glasses in our store. But we do have the typical postcards, key chains, magnets and the like, which supposedly have some educational purpose behind them. Across from the Museum Store is the Levee Store, which is designed to be like a General Store from the olden days. I will be working in both stores. I am basically a guinea pig because I am the first person they will "cross train" to work in both stores. Anyways, my first day was Tuesday. I am going back tomorrow. Am I thankful to have a job, finally? Yes. Am I excited about working retail? No. Am I going to complain about it? No. Thank you for your prayers in this matter. Thanks be to the Lord Who has blessed me with this job.

P.S. Please tell me I am not the only female to go through fits of anger about her clothes declaring that she hates all of them and swearing she will never buy a piece of clothing that she is not absolutely positively sure that it fits and she likes it?

P.P.S. Sorry this is hard to read. I couldn't get it to be double-spaced.

The Deliberation

2007-10-15T18:19:00.000-05:00

Thursday morning we heard the rest of the evidence. Then we were dismissed to lunch and were told to be back in the deliberation room by 1:30. We still were not allowed to talk to each other about the case, so we sat in a room together trying to entertain ourselves and avoid talking about what was on all our minds, until the judge called us back into the courtroom at about 3:30. For two hours we had to wait like this. By that time everyone just wanted to go home. But we had heard all the evidence and there was still some time left, so we heard the concluding arguments of the defence and prosecution. Then we were shut back into the room until we could agree upon a verdict. No more than two hours later did we find the defendant guilty of all charges: two charges of first degree assault with a weapon, one of the charges being domestic. Going back into the courtroom was overwhelming, knowing that everyone was just waiting for us and the whole time had just been trying to predict what we would decide. I just looked down at my lap while the verdict was read and tried not to cry. I sneaked a peek at the defendant's face after the verdict was read, but it remained unchanged. However, it won't be a face I will soon forget. I was so sure when I voted that he was guilty, but afterwards I couldn't help wondering if we were putting an innocent man away for a long time. The whole experience was very trying and seemed very foreign. It took me awhile to recover, and all the details and people involved in the case keep popping back into my head. My only comfort is knowing that God is the decider of all "fates," not men.

Sage Nelson, Juror

2007-10-10T20:38:00.000-05:00

Yep, my fears came true. I was picked to be a juror on the case. So now it's up to me (and a few others) to determine another's fate (truthfully though, God is in control, not us). I don't know how well I'll be sleeping tonight. I had a feeling I would get picked. I shouldn't have been so quiet during the "voir dire" examination (questioning of the jury panel). Dang shyness!
Think of me again tomorrow when I am serving my civic duty in the jury box, trying to sort out all the evidence in my brain. Thankfully the chairs in the jury box are padded so my rear is a bit better today.

p.s. Fall is here! I wore my new coat for the first time today. Yay!

My Rear Hurts...

2007-10-09T19:42:00.000-05:00

Because I have been sitting on it all day today. And don't even say... huh, I thought your rear would be used to it by now. No, I did not sit on it all day by choice. I, Sage Nelson, was summoned by the city of Saint Louis to report to the civil courts building for jury duty. It was a long day. From 8 am until 2 pm I sat and waited for my number to be called (not including an hour lunch break) in a very uncomfortable chair in a cold room. When my number finally was called, I, along with about 49 other people, sat in a courtroom for three more hours while the prosecutor asked us all questions to see who would or would not be an impartial juror for the trial. Then it was a quarter to 5 and the judge sent us home. But we have to report back at 9:15 am tomorrow, which just happens to be during my classes. It was somewhat cool to see how this whole justice system works but mainly it was just boring. Plus it's kinda freaking me out to think I may get chosen to be a juror for the trial. Of course I cannot tell you anything about the trial, but maybe someday I will. For now, that is all the exciting news I have to tell you. I spent the weekend doing all the homework I have been procrastinating to do, so no news there. I am glad you got a kick out of the silly pictures of me, but I am ready to take them down because I don't actually enjoy seeing them every time I look at my blog. Not that I look at my own blog in some narcissistic way, but I use it to go to all the sites I frequent. Anyways, I guess I'll just have to keep posting a lot so the pictures disappear into the archives and I won't have to look at them anymore. Have a good day tomorrow, and think of me while I am doing my civic duty on a hard wooden bench.

Because I can't think of anything to write about....

2007-10-04T22:42:00.000-05:00

I will just ramble on until I can think of something. It has been really hot here still. It is October for pete's sake and it is still between 80 and 90 degrees. I am ready for fall. I am ready to turn off the air conditioning and get a break from high electricity bills. I am ready to wear my new-to-me corduroys and cardigan I got at Goodwill last week. I am ready to drink hot mint tea at night and take bubble baths. I am ready to wear the new coat I got on sale this summer. I am ready to jog in the morning in the cool air and jump in the hot shower when we are done to warm up. Oh yeah, did I mention I started dragging myself out of bed and dragging Jonathan to go jogging mon., wed., and fri. mornings? We are on our fourth week so far. It hasn't been too bad because we are gradually working ourselves up to jogging for thirty minutes sessions without stopping. I am kinda excited about it now because my friend Karen is running a 5k race in November and asked me if I wanted to join, so now I have something to keep me motivated. I have never run a race before, except for when I was an alternate for track in the fourth grade. But that was so long ago, and not even close to three miles. Jonathan really is sweet for going with me because he doesn't exactly enjoy it and thinks its completely ridiculous, and it hurts his shins. He said- why would anyone ever run for fun? And I said- we're not running for fun; we're running because we're fat!

But I don't want to complain too much about the weather because I know as soon as January rolls around I am going to be begging for spring and dying from the cold.

Because I think your eyes need a relief from all this rambling text and your heart needs some laughter, I will show you something you may have not known about me. I am totally, pathetically, and unbelievably, UN-photogenic. It's sad really. Jonathan tries so hard to get a good picture of me but it really is a challenge. See so for yourself-

And this isn't even half of the pictures that Jonathan took! He probably took thirty pictures of me that day and got only three or four good ones. This is one of the better ones (probably because it is farther away from my face :)

You didn't think I was going to leave you with those scary images imprinted in your brain, did you?

Lessons Learned (the hard way)

2007-10-03T15:53:00.000-05:00

Don't leave your cheap, little 20$ wal-mart grill, that you begged your husband to let you buy, outside in your backyard for three days after using it. It will get stolen.
Don't put a bunch of potato peelings in the garbage disposal follwed by the greasy water from the pan that you cooked chicken in. Your sink will get clogged and a plumber will have to come and fix it.
Don't sell something on e-bay, send it to they buyer, and then throw the reciept from the post-office away. If your package is late or gets lost your buyer will want to have proof that you actually sent the product. Fortunately for me, my buyer eventually got the package (after much frantic worrying about it on my part).

The Domino Effect

2007-10-01T18:42:00.000-05:00

It all started a couple Saturdays ago when I got up the motivation to go to a yard sale a few blocks down the street from our house. They had a lot of good stuff, but it was a sad sale because it was advertised as a divorce/moving sale. Who I thought were the divorcees looked so young and so nice, it made me feel very melancholy that they were getting a divorce. But they had this great shelf for 10$. We are so in need of furniture and it was such a cute shelf and I knew exactly where I would put it that I immediately knew I wanted it. Anywhoo-- here it is-

Isn't it cute? I am extremely satisfied with it because it replaced a crappy little aluminum shelf that wobbled and didn't hold all of my many cookbooks without making it very difficult to get one out. The new shelf also holds a lot more so it freed up some very needed space in my kitchen cupboards. Crappy as this little wire shelf is, I still had a plan for it. Into the pantry/laundry room it went to serve the noble purpose of holding the food that was being stored on the floor. Well, of course I had to rearrange my pantry to make it fit properly and take advantage of the freed up floor space. And as I am standing here in this laundry/pantry room I have a revelation. First, let me tell you about my laundry room. Before all this, it was the laundry room from hell. No joke. Here, see for yourself.

(I had already starting clearing the shelves when I took this photo, hence all the junk on the washer and dryer)

See how awkward and junky it looks. The dryer and washing machine are not even next each other. They are at a weird angle that makes everything hard to get to and wastes a bunch of space. No matter how many times I tried reorganizing things it still ended up a big mess and practically impossible to do laundry without wanting to scream. Why, you ask, did we put the washing machine and dryer in such a silly place? I don't know why we were so stupid, frankly. Except that there were two shelves screwed in the wall in the way of where the dryer should have gone. For some insane reason it did not occur to me for to just move the stupid shelves. For almost two years I have been suffering under this frusturating set-up. So as I am standing here in the hated, hell room, it dawns on me. Those shelves are screwed in. All I need is a screw-driver to take them out. The landlord isn't going to care if I take them out. We can always put them back in when we move out. Let me repeat this very OBVIOUS revelation that for some reason never occurred to me. THE SHELVES ARE SCREWED IN TO THE WALL; YOU CAN TAKE THEM DOWN YOURSELF. So that's what I did. I took the shelves down, and moved the washer and dryer (with Jonathan's help) into a NORMAL position. And after a little more organization, viola! a regular walkable, laundryable, pantryable, room.

I am in heaven! I have a shelf that I can get cookbooks down from easily and a laundry room that I can walk in. Thank-you, Lord! Although, it does make me sad that I am benefiting so much from a divorce. I suppose it's their loss.

George III

2007-09-28T18:26:00.000-05:00

I am back from my extended and unannounced blog vacation. Honestly my life is just so dull I haven't had a darn thing to say. Except this- for my Art methods class we had to make an animal paper bag puppet. And not just any old typical glued on construction ears and eyes puppet. It had to be 3D, anatomically correct, and made out of creative materials. Let's just say I took those requirements to heart. Meet GeorgeIII-

Come on, are you surprised? You know how adorable I think turtles are. The puppets were due on Wednesday. Everyone showed their puppets (turtle, blow fish, rabbit, parrot, elephant, and butterfly) and we critiqued and graded them all. Then we ranked them from best to worst (in a nice way, of course). And guess who's everyone thought was the best? Mine. Duh! How could you not think GeorgeIII was the cutest turtle puppet you ever saw?

In case you forgot, here is GeorgeII.
(GeorgeI was my pet box turtle from long ago who ran away).

Here are the other turtles I have joyfully encountered since living here in Missouri.

Okay, so this one was at the zoo. But the rest were in the wild.

Have a good weekend. And don't worry, I'll be back soon.

Granola

2007-09-20T22:15:00.000-05:00

As promised, another whole wheaty, whole grainy, whole deliciousy recipe. Seriously this granola is very tasty. It's not too sweet, easy and inexpensive to make, won't break your teeth, and absolutely delicious with some yogurt. Oh, and it's good for you too. Unless you snack on it all day long (guilty as charged).

Granola*
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Combine in large mixing bowl:
2 cups whole wheat flour
6 cups rolled oats (not quick cookin')
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup wheat germ
Blend together separately:
1/2 cup water
1 cup oil (I substituted some of the oil for water and it turned out fine)
1 cup honey or corn syrup (I recommend honey; it's better for you)
2 tsp. vanilla
1 Tb. salt
Add blended liquids to dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Spread out on 2 greased cookie sheets and bake 1 hour, or until dry and golden. Store in covered containers.
Makes 2 1/2 -3 quarts.
Feel free to add in anything that you think would taste good; I added craisins and almonds.
(*this recipe courtesy of the More-with-Less Cookbook )
To print this recipe, simply select the text, copy it, and paste it to a Word document.

2007-09-19T14:11:00.000-05:00

Sorry about the lack of updates. I got a complaint that I am not satisfying the blog-addicts out there, so I apologize. To be honest, I haven't the heart to write lately. I'm still bummed about losing my job, and not having to work is making it worse because sitting around here with nothing to do is making me go a little bit crazy.

On a more positive note, I have been getting a little bit of much-needed experience working with school-age kids. First off, I started tutoring again. Sadly, my previous tutee, Ariel, moved to Chicago this Summer, therefore I did not get to say good-bye. I was a bit nervous about getting a new kid, but it turned out fine because I got Alex whom I have tutored before. She is a sweet girl and I look forward to working with her this year even though I will miss Ariel.
Here is Alex with me last April- (not the most flattering picture, I know)

Other sad news- I quit the two year-old Sunday School class to get the aforementioned experience and moved up to the 2nd-4th grade class. I will really miss the two-year-olds. You remember how much I loved them (if not, click here). This Sunday was my first day with the older kids, and it was a lot of fun. I am not the main teacher, so I get a break from teaching the Bible lessons, but I get to lead song time which means I had to break out the old guitar. I spent practically the whole day changing the strings and tuning the dang thing.

Also, I have visited my friends from church Mary's and Brenda's classrooms the last couple weeks. They are both third-grade teachers at the same private school. That has been good for me because, frankly, I have been freaking out about student teaching next year. I haven't had a whole lot of experience in the classroom or with school-age kids so I am really starting to get nervous. So basically I am doing everything I can to get more experience to ease my fears a little. I am going to start helping at our church's Sunday night kids' program, and I am looking to either tutor another day or volunteer at another church's after-school program.

While I am on the subject, for one of my classes we will be going to an elementary school for a couple days for the next few weeks. We are learning how to give reading tests/inventories and are going to test them out on students. My first day was Monday, and I was in a fourth grade classroom. It was a lot of fun. First of all, the school we went to was awesome. I immediately decided I want to teach there just by the looks of it (probably can't judge a school by its looks though). The building is super nice and airy with tons of pets. Yeah that's right, animals. Everywhere you go there are fish tanks, and in the hallways I saw a huge parrot, other little birds, a snake, and I only saw part of the school. Outside they have a nice courtyard with a pond, and I hear the kindergarten has a pool.

Then I got to work with a fourth-grade girl and she was too cute. Part of our class assignment was to interview our student, and I thought it would be awkward asking her questions like- when is your bedtime? what do your parents do? But it ended up being really enjoyable because she was very talkative and had a very inspiring personality. For instance I asked her if she liked school and she said "Oh, I love school! And I always pay attention in school, for two reasons. First, I want to get a good education, and second, I want to be a teacher when I grow up!" She is a lot of fun, and I will be working with her each time I go to the school.

Yikes! I've got class in ten minutes! Have a great day!

Addicted

2007-09-13T21:10:00.000-05:00

Okay, I admit it. We are officially Office addicts. We don't normally buy this kind of thing but..... we have to catch up for when season 4 starts! Let's just say at two episodes a night with a total of 22 episodes... you know what will be doing for the next couple weeks :)

Brown Sugar Muffins

2007-09-11T22:51:00.000-05:00

Make these muffins for breakfast. You'll be surprised at how delicous they are considering all the whole-grainy goodness packed inside. Plus they are simple to make.

Ingredients:
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup milk
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
2 tsp. baking powder

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 12 muffin cups.
Mix oats, milk and brown sugar in large bowl; let stand 5 minutes.
Add butter and egg; blend well.
Stir in remaining ingredients just until moistened.
Fill muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake 15 or 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Options: You can substitute honey for half the brown sugar, they still turn out great.
Also if you have toasted wheat germ put about 2 tb in with the flour for extra whole-grainy goodness.

To print this recipe, simply select this text, copy and paste it to Word.

Childhood Artifact

2007-09-06T20:00:00.000-05:00

Pink and Blue
Pink is a color, a color that most little girls love. And of course their mothers adore their little girls in pink, so they dress their little dears in pink dresses, pink bows, and pink socks (and undies). They say Pink is for girls and Blue is for boys. But when the little girls grow up (around the ages 8-11) they sneer their noses to Pink.
And when the not-so-little-anymore girls' mothers buy them pink dresses, pink bows, and pink socks, (and undies) the not-so-little girls say "Yuck! Pink is ugly." And their mothers sigh. And the not-so-little-girls take interest in other colors, like blue, especially. So they get into blue and then about the age of 11 they think Pink is not so bad a color after all. But of course they still don't wear pink and they still say to their friends "Pink, YUCK! But actually they really do like Pink!!!
Sage Wilson
P.S. I am going through the process of pink and blue myself!

Hours and Hours of Freedom

2007-09-05T16:57:00.000-05:00

Since I haven't been working I have a had a LOT of time on my hands. I know what you're thinking. What in the world have you been doing? I think I have kept fairly busy. Yes I have had a few days where I sat around and moped but that is to be expected, right? Here are some of the things I have been doing the past couple weeks-

frequenting our fave coffee shop Northwest
also frequenting Goodwill and the other thrifts (they are right next to Northwest so of course I've got to stop and see what's new)
quilling homemade cards until my brain feels quilled (see bottom for evidence)
almost caught up on season 2 of Lost
went on a wholewheat flour kick- substituting wheat flour for part of that bleached, enriched, white flour crap in many recipes- pancakes, waffles, pizza dough, cookies... recipes to come soon
made my own granola! (it's delicious) ... also a soon to come recipe
finally finished reading Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
rearranged our living room
helped a family from church who moved, unpack boxes and organize/clean their house
listed an item on e-bay (auction ends tomorrow *crossing fingers for big money*)
trying to pray and read the Bible on a regular basis (I hear it's a good habit to get into)
painted my nails and toenails (after removing the orange polish from the pedicure David gave me.)

See? I have gotten out of the house a little and done things besides watch soap operas and eat pretzels. Oh yeah, and there is this thing called school that I go to, so I have been going to classes and doing a little home-work.

Here are my beautiful cards. No I do not make anything but flowers. Unless you are Jonathan who got a chameleon once or my brother who got a scorpion. Do you like any you see? If so you can buy them for three-fifty a piece. Just kidding. If you like any tell me when your birthday is and which one fancy.

On another note... I took the first quiz for Jonathan's class. I got a 21.5/25 which is a B. Not bad I suppose for not attending the lectures and skimming through the reading. Although, you'd think the instructor's own wife could get an A.

No Explanation Needed

2007-09-03T20:29:00.001-05:00

I have had a few people ask me about the video I posted awhile ago, Charlie: Candy Mountain, wondering if there is some deeper meaning to it. There is no deeper meaning. It's stupid and it's annoying, and I think it's hilarious.

A Humble Request

2007-09-01T13:05:00.001-05:00

Okay I have put this off long enough. Part of coming to terms with this situation means being able to tell people, even if it is just in cyberspace. Monday I went to work to check my schedule. Once again I was not on it. Brandon asked to talk to me. I am sorry but I don't feel like going into details right now, but long story short I am no longer needed by the Pastry department, and therefore am without a job. Please pray for me right now. I am really sad and dissappointed. As you may know I was finally starting to really get the hang of that job and very much enjoy it. Now I am not sure what I want to do. Brandon talked to Louie (Nadoz manager) about having me be a shift leader at their new location, so that is one option, but I just don't know if I can handle doing that type of work again. Once again your prayers are appreciated.

Mr. Nelson, Indeed!

2007-08-28T23:06:00.000-05:00

Remember this handsome fellow?-

This is Mr. Nelson, College Instructor. Today was his first day teaching his first college class. He wasn't a bit nervous in front of his attentive audience of mostly female freshmen, and within less than two hours he had went through his syllabus, collected information about each student, and introduced them to the world of philosophy by asking them what they think they know and how they know they know it. I am so proud. I made him pancakes when he got home.

Idaho Trip

2007-08-25T22:55:00.000-05:00

Okay so we still don't have central air, but Jonathan says my fans are getting antsy so I thought I better give an update. Fortunately they gave us another window air conditioner so our house is an average 78 degrees instead of 85 and we have moved out of the bedroom. I was also able to get some housecleaning/organizing and laundry done which was really piling up so that was good. Anyway let me get on to the good stuff.

We had a really fun time in Idaho. It was so nice to get to see all our family and be able to spend some QT with them.
Here are some of the highlights from our trip-

On the way to Idaho we had a six hour layover in Minneapolis. I found out there was a tram that runs from the airport to Mall of America. So I dragged the reluctant Jonathan out of the airport to see the biggest mall in the U.S. It's not that great. It's just a big mall. Oh and there is an amusement park in the middle. It actually had some of my favorite rides from the Western Idaho Fair like the Swings and Falling Star. Being the nerd I am my favorite part was the Lego store with huge Lego creations.

I freaked out when I saw my brother face to face and was looking him in the eye. He's thirteen and my height. Yikes! I like this picture because he looks like the punk he is.
We swam in the pool a lot. We also played a very violent game of pool basketball. Here is my sister-in-law Jennie going down the slide sideways.
Jonathan took this shot four times and each time one of us had our eyes closed. Such a photogenic family. I was fresh out of the pool hence the wet rat look.

I learned to cook virtual style on the Wii with Brooke.

I also went bowling with Brooke and David and some girl David likes. It was weird to see my little brother flirting with a girl. We also bowled on the Wii. Let me tell you, it's not that realistic because I am a thousand times better at bowling on the Wii then in real life.
Of course we followed our old tradition and played the game Pit with the Nelsons.

I made this delicious hunk of chocolate for a belated father's day present. I will post the recipe sooner or later, don't worry

Watched my awesome mom play awesome tennis and win at our old stompin' grounds Julia Davis Park.

Nice view up David's nose, huh?

Our second to last day we drove three hours to Red Fish Lake. We saw the Sawtooth mountains, swam in the lake, ate dinner, then drove home (Jonathan and David also squeezed in some paintballing). All in one day. Dang that lake was cold. It was a lot of fun. And so beautiful.

My adorable husband. Isn't he Cute?

I also did two other things I hadn't done in a long time.
First I cut about eight inches off my hair.

(This how I feel after working on this blog all day :)

Then my sister took me do something I haven't done in an even longer time. Like 15 years long. Brace yourself... try not to laugh.... We went to the RollerDrome and went roller skating. Fortunately I do not have any pictures of that.

Well I think that's about it. Getting all these photos up here has been a nightmare so I've got to quit. Later I'll put up a slide of the photos Jonathan took of the mountains.

A Welcome Back Present for Us

2007-08-21T16:59:00.000-05:00

Sorry about the lack of updates. I know you are all dying to hear about my vacation to Idaho, but I am waiting until it's a bit cooler in here. You see, after waking up late and nearly missing our flight and spending our entire day in airplanes and airports... this is what we came home to on Saturday when I all I wanted to do was take a shower-

Some pipe had busted in the bathroom and was shooting water everywhere. The water had been going long enough and strong enough that it broke the light, the fan, soaked the hallway carpet, and soaked all of our toiletries in the bathroom cupboard. Plus water dripped through the vent into the basement and ruined our air conditioner. So our house was 89 degrees, very humid, and we had no way of cooling it down. With some force Jonathan got the 24 hour maintenance guy to come on a Saturday night and fix the pipe. Fortunately, he also gave us a window air-conditioner for our bedroom. So basically we moved into our bedroom where it is cool and are staying there until the air conditioner is fixed. And that is when I will give you lots of juicy details and photos of our vacation.

Charlie : Candy Mountain

2007-08-13T19:50:00.001-05:00

Goodbye Blog.... For Now

2007-08-07T11:41:00.000-05:00

Yay! In approximately 12 hours we will be landing in good ol' Idaho. Since 97 percent of my readers reside there (oh yeah, don't even think I don't know where you live) they can hear about my wonderful life in person instead of just reading about it. So blog, goodbye for now and I will see you in about two weeks.

My Goodwill Adventure

2007-08-02T23:06:00.000-05:00

Wednesday I did not have to work (no surprise there) so I decided to do something I rarely do alone- get out of the house. I admit it. I don't like going out without Jonathan. Before going somewhere I get a bit nervous and want to back out at the last minute. At 9 am I wrote a note to Jonathan telling him where I was going and that I left at 9 am. After systematically planning out my route using our Microsoft Works Suite Streets & Trips program, printing out the directions from each stop to the next and leaving a copy for Jonathan so he knew where I would be if I went missing, I was ready to go. Then I felt my tummy grumble so sat down to eat a snack and started having second thoughts. Maybe I should just sit here on the couch and watch Good Morning America and explore daytime TV all day. But after flipping through the channels and landing on the show with that stupid blond girl acting really stupid with that stupid old guy, I got sick and barfed from watching too much daytime TV, and was out the door by 930 am. Phew!

Anyway it paid off. I had the most fun I've had in a long time (out by myself, that is). First stop, my school to do some errands (boring) and then to Northwest Coffee Co. for a small Americano, half full, and a poppy seed muffin. Unfortunately I was still a bit anxious about my big trip out on the town so I just scarfed the muffin down and took the coffee to go, so didn't get to savor it much. Then following my systematically planned route, I hit Goodwill on Forest Park Ave, the St. Vincents across the street, Goodwill on Olive Blvd. (it took me awhile to get there after I missed my turn), the junky no-name thrift store across the street, the Scholarshop (uppity thrift store), Goodwill on Manchester, and last but not least the grocery store. I got home at 3:30 p.m. I didn't even get to two of my stops either- Goodwill on Morganford and the Scholarshop on Big Bend.

I was seriously pooped after digging through junk all day on an empty stomach, but it was worth it. I saw a lot of good stuff that I wanted to buy but couldn't afford (stupid Goodwill and their high prices!) but did end up with some pretty good loot. I got a big pile of books for my future classroom (gotta start collecting early) all which cost about less than 2 dollars total, one of those bags that lets you hang clothes in it without them getting wrinkled for Jonathan for when he goes to conferences, for 3 dollars, and the Star Wars Trilogy on VHS (the original version) for 6 dollars, and some other junk which I can't remember right now. I also saw a lot of St. Louis that I have never seen before, which isn't much of a surprise, but it was a nice change of scenery. I got some good books. Here they are-

See any you like?

Water Lilies

2007-08-02T22:48:00.001-05:00

I love water lilies. I did not discover water lilies, however, until we moved here. About a week after we moved into our house we set out to explore Tower Grove Park and found them in the manicured pond amid giant lily pads. They don't fully come into bloom until around this time but we have been anxious to see them. Early Monday morning I remembered the water lilies and had Jonathan take me to there so he could take pictures for me. It was fun. The frogs were croaking really loud. And a weird guy was going around clapping his hands... without stopping. Here are some of his best shots. (Jonathan's not the crazy man's)

And please stop by my older post- two year olds are pretty darn cute to see their adorable faces. The picture wouldn't load for some reason when I wrote it, but I got it to work now. I couldn't rave about how cute they were and not have the evidence to prove it, could I?

Boring things I have been doing that I thought you would like to know about

2007-07-31T23:37:00.000-05:00

walking/jogging on the Mississippi riverfront trail
reading (Shabanu and its sequel Haveli)
rearranging our bedroom
jump-roping... or is it rope jumping?
quilling paper
marking favorite recipes in old cooking magazines
registering for next semester (starts Aug. 20)
watching a whole heck of a lot of TV
watching way too many movies, which are as listed- (this is a bit embarrassing; try not to laugh) Emma, Virgin Suicides, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Princess Diaries, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Alice Adams, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
watching endless hours of Scrubs (please don't tell my sister, I don't want to give her the pleasure of knowing that I like her favorite show)

And THAT my friends, is what happens when work is ssssssssssssssslllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Two year olds are pretty darn cute (now with pictures)

2007-07-29T14:38:00.000-05:00

I haven't talked much about my Sunday School kids, which is strange because they bring much joy to my sorry little life. I teach the youngest group of kids- the almost 2's and younger 2's with two other ladies, Linda and Brenda. They are quite young to be going to sunday school, obviously, but the nursery was getting overcrowded so we started a new class for their age group. It has been a challenge to get eight two-year olds to sit still long enough to listen to a Bible story, but mostly it has just been plain fun. Especially when you've got kids as sweet and cute as they are. (It always helps when they are cute.) Anyway today was the last day of Sunday School for six weeks. I'll definitely miss the little buggers but a break will be nice. As cute as they are they still wear me out. Because they are so young it is hard to get a response out of them, but since we started the class in January they have all come a really long way. I can't tell you how gratifying it is to hear them start to sing and do the motions to songs and finger plays after doing them over and over for months. Here is our schedule we loosely follow every week.

Welcome Time (do puzzles and put stickers on attendance chart)

Sing songs and do finger plays

Bible Lesson

Color a picture
"Play" musical instruments and sing

Rest time

Blow Bubbles

Pick up Time

Let me tell you, if you ever want to entertain young children for hours on end, blow bubbles for them. It works miracles. Hmm... maybe that's why that brand of bubbles is called Miracle Bubbles?

Now that you know the script you must meet the cast. First you've got the twins Anna and Andrew. They are the most affectionate and friendly children I have ever met. It doesn't matter if you have known them two years or two minutes, they will come and give you a hug, and if you want, a kiss. They love to sit in your lap and cuddle. They also love to wander around during the Bible story, but you can't blame 'em they are only two. Next we have Annika. A blond haired blue eyed beauty, she may seem quiet and serious, but just give her time and she will open up and bless you with a smile and a laugh. Chloe is a little cutie who is quiet and mellow and loves to sing. George is new to the stage, but he has adjusted well considering he is the youngest. Maia is an independent and active little youngster. Sadie is the most improved; the first few months she was unable to leave her mother's side, but now participates to the fullest and makes us laugh with her cute comments. Last but not least, is Samantha. The second oldest of the group, Samantha sings all of the songs, knows all the finger-plays by heart, and always answers the questions during the Bible story (she answers them correctly too). I think she has an unfair advantage with her age and her older brothers and sisters. She always cracks us up when she does things like put her crayon behind her ear to try and be like her dad. Well that's all of 'em. They are the sweetest and cutest things ever. Nough said.

Camping Photos which you better enjoy because it took my computer forever to upload.

2007-07-29T14:36:00.000-05:00

I hope you like scenery pictures because that's all there is (except a scary pic of me to mix things up a bit) I am so totally unphotogenic Jonathan gave up trying to get a decent picture of me.) Keep scrolling to read our camping adventure.

"Camping"

2007-07-22T13:26:00.000-05:00

"Camping" was fun and miserable at the same time. First the fun. We went to Eminence, Missouri which is a little town in the Ozarks about three and a half hours drive from St. Louis. The drive was long but absolutely gorgeous.The Ozarks are the closest thing we got to mountains, which isn't close at all, but they are still pretty. You will see what I mean in a moment. We camped at a nice campground with running water and a more than decent bathroom. Jonathan was dissappointed because it was also popular, but I don't know what he expected- he found it in the atlas and it was listed on a website- but somehow he still got it in his head it would be more secluded. The campground was also about 25 steps from a really nice river, which was the best part. It wasn't too hot or too cold, and was just deep enough to get a good swim. Here is our camp site, and some views of the river and from the river.

It was also next to a couple trails. We hiked one the first day and it took us to Blue Springs which claims to have some of the bluest water of all the natural springs in the world. It really was the bluest water I have seen though and beautiful. Swimming was not allowed which was too bad because I was dripping in sweat and totally miserable. It was hot and humid. And I had hiked almost two miles in jeans. Anyway here is the spring. Our camera doesn't do it much justice.

Anyway we got back and went straight for the river to cool off. We ate dinner (chili from a can, not exciting, I know) Then we took our chairs out by the river and read for a long time. Then we built a little fire and made s'mores. It ain't camping without s'mores. Then we decided to hit the hay, I mean the tent, at about ten o' clock. After getting up at 5:30 and driving and hiking and swimming all day we were tired. Meanwhile it was getting dark and the bugs were starting to come out. I don't think I have ever seen so many bugs flying around in my life. Anyway we got in the tent and it was unbearably hot and of course unbearably humid. We were hot and sticky and we were not cooling off. So we laid down and wondered how we could ever possibly fall asleep in such conditions. But Jonathan has this thing, this *special* talent. Once he lies down and shuts his eyes- he's out like a light, and there is no coming back. So I have to face the awful night alone. It's so stuffy in the tent I feel like I can't even breathe. Oh yeah and the chorus of creatures outside was a bit LOUD. The cicadas were just chirping away along with a dozen other kinds of noisy bugs. It was nuts I felt like I was in a jungle. And what is with bugs and light anyway? We had our flashlight on in the tent and we heard some type of LARGE bug literally trying to burrow his way into our tent as fast as he could to try to get to the light. It freaked us out so we just turned the light off. Anyways... several hours later it finally cooled off enough for me to cuddle up under a blanket and go to sleep (I can't sleep without a blanket on me, but how could I have a blanket on when it was so hot?)

In the morning Jonathan convinced me to take a hike on the other trail. We hiked up to this view which was lovely, but once again I was hot and sticky and miserable.

I found this little turtle on the trail. I am sure you are sick of seeing turtles but too bad. He is too cute and he reminds me of the other little turtle friend I made.

After the hike we cleaned up and drove home. It was a nice drive but I was too tired to stay awake so I missed most of the scenery. Unfortunately we got a flat tire, but it happened just as we pulled into a gas station. Anyway we finally made it home and I have never been gladder to take a shower.

So here is the moral of the story: If you live in a dry climate with mountains (ahem, Idaho) and like to go camping... THANK THE LORD that you can go on a hike without dying of heat and getting eaten alive by bugs, and can sleep cozily without suffocating from humidityheat or having to listen to this and this and this all night. I don't know... I may just be sticking to day trips from now on...

And we're off!

2007-07-18T06:18:00.001-05:00

Well, it finally happened. Jonathan and I both got two days off in a row. So we are taking this rare opportunity to explore the Missouri outdoors. I am a bit nervous about going camping here- I mean how do you go camping without mountains? Anywhoo... gotta get on the road. Look forward to lots of pictures since Jonathan is buying another memory stick for the camera just for a two day trip.

The Big 5-0

2007-07-16T22:11:00.000-05:00

Yes this post will be my fiftieth thank-you very much. Half-way there to the 100th post contest you have to look forward to!

Anyway, on to the real thing I was going to write about... I just thought I would let all of you Idahodians know that I went to Wal-Mart today and there was an advertisement for the new college football video-game featuring our very own Boise State. I am not a big BSU fan but I am glad they are at least putting us on the map a bit. Maybe a few years from now when I tell people where I am from they won't say "oh Iowa, huh? That's nice."

2007-07-15T22:26:00.000-05:00

I haven't been blogging much lately because there hasn't been much to blog about. I suppose I could just ramble on about my life right now and bore you all to death. Yes, that sounds like a good idea. Summer is going way too fast, as usual. I can't believe it is already the middle of July. THAT is depressing. I don't know about you, but every summer I always make these big plans and have all these things I want to do, but then it goes by so fast and I never seem to get to do any of the things I planned on doing. Like this summer we wanted to go camping. Or at least get out of the city for more than a day and see what the rest of Missouri looks like. We would really like to see the Ozarks also. Jonathan has been working every weekend and my work schedule hasn't really matched up with his. Now Jonathan has all this studying and preparation to do before school so that's where all his free time is going. And trust me there is no way we will be able to go anywhere during the school year. Jonathan is booked 24/7 from August to May. Yes he will be a busy boy. He is teaching Philosophy 101 this semester so that will add a lot to his work load. I am excited for him though. I think he is excited too, albeit nervous. I am going to try to take his class so I can learn something about this whole philosophy thing Jonathan is so enamored with. I won't be able to attend his lectures of course but I can do the readings and read his lecture notes. We will see though... we will see.
WARNING: LONG BORING STUFF AHEAD; PROCEED AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION

This past year has been an interesting one that is for sure. Actually it has been really hard. I will give you this short history so you understand a bit where I am coming from. When we moved here almost two years ago in August (two years- YIKES! that is for another post) I hadn't applied to any schools or anything so had to find a full time job. The first one I got was at Nadoz cafe. I really hated it at first. Then it sort of grew on me. Then I hated it again. Nadoz cafe is only a part of the larger catering business called STEVEN BECKER FINE DINING. However, Nadoz and SBFD share the same location. So back in the kitchen of nadoz cafe is where all the culinary staff works. Anyway, SBFD has a pastry department. There a dear friend of mine worked, Matt. I miss you Matt wherever you are. Matt was a talented young pastry chef. Everyday I passed by Matt and the other pastry cooks doing their thing. Everyday I looked at them longingly, realizing that I have always enjoyed baking and working back there with Matt would be my dream job. Sometimes I lingered, so Matt would teach me a few tricks of the trade, and started to notice my interest. In my mind there was no way I would be able to work in Pastry unless I had some sort of training. So I did some research and found that Forest Park Community College had a culinary program and also a baking and pastry program. My plan was to enroll in the fall and finish the program quickly and then work in the pastry department. Matt, however, discouraged me. He said it was a crappy college and not to waste my money. Said he knew more than the professors there. All the time Matt encouraged me to just talk to our head chef, Patrick, about my interest. But if you knew Patrick you wouldn't blame me for not wanting to talk to him. He is very intimidating, and was even more intimidating to me back then. Turns out that I didn't have to talk to Patrick anyway. He caught on to my interest after I was helping Matt one day, and asked me if I wanted to work back there. I could hardly contain my excitement. This is getting really long and boring. This was the beginning of last summer. We had a manager named Carl. I talked to Carl and he said he would work out the whole department transfer when I got back from my vacation to Idaho. Well, I got back, and guess what? Carl was long gone, and so was any of my courage to talk to Patrick myself. Patrick never brought it up again, so I was stuck at my hated job at Nadoz. Time goes by, unfortunately Matt leaves, but he tells me not to give up hope. November rolls around, and our old sous chef, Ben shows up. He was going to be involved in the department transfer with Carl but he had also quit so he wanted to know what was up- why wasn't I working in Pastry? I explained the situation, and to my embarrassment (and secret joy) asks Patrick straight up what was going on, and easy as pie, I am working in the pastry department the next week. Oh my dream job finally has come true! Patrick at the time, it being the holidays and all, said he needed me to work full time. I, however, could only work four days a week because I had given up all hope of working in pastry so had returned to school to finish my elem. ed degree. I worked a lot during November and December, but we had already gotten our airline tickets to fly home for Christmas for two weeks. When we got back, SBFD was dead as a doornail. Me being a little old part-timer was not guaranteed any hours, so I didn't get hardly any for all of January. It was a sad month. I thought business would pick up again after January so decided to take only nine credits of school so that I wouldn't be too overwhelmed with school and work. Boy was that a mistake. It NEVER picked up. Not enough for me to work very much anyways. Since then it has been so up and down. Two weeks I'll get thirty hours, the next two I'll get twelve. It is soooo frustrating. I finally have a job I enjoy ( and it has taken me awhile to get the hang of this job and actually enjoy it partly due to the fact I couldn't get along with Brandon, the pastry supervisor. It was definitely rocky the first several months, but I think every job is at first. Brandon has been in a perpetually good mood though so that always helps) but no work! No work no money! So all summer I have been back and forth, back and forth- should I get another job or should I just wait it out? So far I have been waiting it out. But I just don't know if I should "wait it out" any longer. We do have one girl leaving in the fall, so I am thinking I will get her hours. I hated working at Nadoz, yes, but I worked a lot, got paid more, so made a lot more money. I love working in pastry but I work very little and get paid less. Today I was thinking though... when I was working at Nadoz I prayed that God would give me a different job. And He did.. my dream job!.. so shouldn't I just trust Him to work it out at this job and wait on Him instead of constantly worrying about it? I don't know... It would have to involve a lot of trust considering we are running low on money... If you have read this far, congratulations! and I am sorry I whined for so long, but what do you think?

Recipe of the Week

2007-07-09T22:27:00.000-05:00

Okay- because I love all of you readers out there dearly I wanted to share a dear recipe with you. But you have to promise you will make it. You have to. You will not regret it. It is delicious. And it is a top secret one from my work so promise you won't tell okay? I have made it at work and it was so good I wanted to make it at home. So I converted the recipe to normal measurements and tested it out on fourth of July. It turned out perfectly so here you go-

Peanut Butter Blondies

1/2 cup peanut butter

6 Tb butter (softened)

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 3/4 cup brown sugar

blend the heck out of all these ingredients together

slowly add

3 eggs

1/4 cup milk

Blend until combined

Add
1 1/4 cup flour

1 bag (12 0z) white chocolate chips

mix until combined

Spread evenly in a greased 15x10x1 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 min or until golden brown. Then eat and share with your family and friends. They will love you.

Here is what the final product will look like after it has been cut and placed in a tupperware. I would have take a picture before all that but I forgot.

Mark Your Calenders

2007-07-05T22:52:00.000-05:00

We are going to IDAHOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I am excited. But it is too far off to get too excited. I know you all want to be there to meet us at the airport so here are the details-
Itinerary
Tuesday, 07 August 07 Northwest Flight #1454
Depart: St. Louis, MO (STL) 1:46pm
Arrive: Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN (MSP) 3:20pm
Tuesday, 07 August 07 Northwest Flight #1277
Depart: Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN (MSP) 5:12pm
Arrive: Boise, ID (BOI) 7:13pm
And yes we will be arriving on Jonathan's birthday so have a present in hand.
We leave Boise August 18th EARLY in the morning. So get your appointments in with us now people, before it is too late!

Here is what we look like so you know who to look for.

Japan in a Box

2007-07-01T21:14:00.000-05:00

My sister Brooke went to Japan, the lucky duck. In return for me allowing her to go, she had to agree to bring me back the coolest souveniers Japan had to offer.

Here is what I got.

The world's smallest tea set. The tea pot actually does pour tea in case you are wondering. Not. You are so gullible.

Please, sit, have some tea.

Also some funky candy. I had to take a picture of it so that I would remember what it looked like after I ate it all.

And of course the world's smallest breakfast.

You were wondering why Japanese people are so small, well, considering this is their normal portion size, it explains a lot.

more flower pictures

2007-06-28T22:57:00.000-05:00

Here are the photos just like I promised. Enjoy! I know you will.

Acting normal in Normal

2007-06-27T18:20:00.001-05:00

Late Sunday night we left for Normal, Illinois which is two and half hours east of here. My Uncle Dan and Aunt Lynda live there with their teenage daughters Jessica and Lyndsey. It was a mini family reunion. My grandparents were there along with another aunt and uncle, Sandy and Walt. It was a fun mini vacation. We laughed a lot, slept a lot, ate a lot, sat around and did nothing a lot. Yeah that's pretty much it. Oh yeah I relaxed in their above ground pool and got a sun burn. That is always fun. Here we are playing Monopoly. I won of course. Can't you see the big pile of money?

My Grandparents

We got back late last night. Today I took Jonathan to see the botanical garden so he could enjoy the beauty too. Don't worry I'll post pictures later! If you are tired of looking at pictures of flowers and plants then that is just too bad.

Botanical Garden

2007-06-24T17:15:00.000-05:00

I went to the Botanical Garden yesterday with my friend Karen and her two darling little girls. Annika is two and is my sunday school class. Lauren is a baby. Until babies are at least one year old I don't pay attention to their age so I couldn' tell you how old Lauren is. It was very hot, but it was so beautiful. Karen goes there at least once a week so she is the perfect tour guide. She showed me these Lotus blooms which are just gorgeous right now-

Some Lilies

Ooooh this is a pretty flower... oh wait that's Annika. Isn't she cute?

I'm FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

2007-06-23T13:09:00.000-05:00

Yea! summer time here I come. Finally. Summer school was officially over at 7:43 p.m. last night. Although it was a quick and easy way to get six credits over with I do not think I will be taking summer school again. Every night I was sitting in class listening to my instructor talk about himself instead of sitting out on the step listening to the cicadas and watching the fire-flies. Now that it is the end of June already the nice weather is quickly dissipating. Soon it will be too hot and muggy to enjoy. So even though summer school only took away one-third of my summer it took the best one-third. Oh well.

So my birthday didn't turn out to be so bad after all, for those of you were wondering. I skipped my second class so that I could go home and enjoy my birthday if only for a few hours. I came home to a vase of flowers in the living room and my husband scurrying around to feed me a delicious dinner of pork chops and mashed potatoes and chocolate cake. Also my birthday present came- on my birthday! Which I wasn't expected so that was kind of cool. Here is my birthday present-

Isn't she beautiful?
And here is the cake Jonathan made all by himself from SCRATCH. It is decorated as a turtle in case you couldn't tell.

Anyway- I hate to cut this off short but I have a lot of summer goofing off to catch up on. Since I was so busy with school this past week I haven't even gotten the chance to play with my new toy so I've got a lot of baking to do! But check back often because I will be updating this thing daily now that I am school free.

Summer School

2007-06-13T17:31:00.000-05:00

I have been a very bad blogger. What fun is a blog if you never update it? Anyway the lack of posts lately is due partly to the fact that I am in summer school. I am taking two classes (two intro classes- sociology and computers- that I want to get out of the way) that are Monday through Thursday from around 5pm to 10pm. So I have been going straight from work to school. Which I have come to find out, is not necessarily a good idea if I don't want people to think of me as that girl who stinks. I found this out a little late though since I often went straight from work to school during the spring semester. The way I found out is like this... Jonathan got a summer job (thank the Lord) at a local coffee shop. I won't go into the details because 1. he hates it and 2. he doesn't want anyone to know that he, a sophisticated philosophy phd student is stooping down to the rest of the working world's level. Anyways... this coffee shop serves food and the sort, and when he comes home from a long day of working in this coffee shop, he stinks. Mostly like old syrup and I am not sure what. So I thought about it- I work in a kitchen with food all day long; I am bound to stink when I come home. I asked Jonathan for the honest truth, and he told me straight up, that yes actually I do stink when I come home from work. Bad. He doesn't specify what I stink like, however. We were arguing about who stunk worse though so we smelled our dirty work clothes. We did not come to a conclusion but Jonathan did say that my work clothes smelled like a twelve year old boy (i.e. similar to my little brother's room). I reluctantly agreed. So here is my question- if I went all this time without knowing that I stink like a sweaty adolescent boy, then does everyone who stinks not even know or notice it? That seems weird to me. So think about that the next time you are like- wow that guy could use a shower. Give him a break, he can't smell himself.
P.S. I know what you are thinking- Sage, that is disgusting- But don't worry too much- I don't go to school in my work clothes. I change into clean clothes and spray a bunch of body spray on. Who knows if it does any good.
P.P.S. For your information my birthday is tomorrow. If you do not have my address or e-mail address to send me presents and the sort, just let me know by commenting and I will be happy to tell you where to send them.
P.P.S. Are there woman taxi drivers or limo drivers? I think I saw one today, but I wasn't sure if they even existed.
P.P.P.S. In case you are wondering- I am having the most pathetic 22nd birthday ever. I am going to work at 8am. Then after work I will head straight to school until about 10 pm. Exciting.
P.P.P.P.S. Am I even doing this right? I never could figure out if you were supposed to add more p's or s's to p.s. Does anybody know? If p.s. stands for post script like I think it does, it would make more sense to add more p's. But in actuality I have no idea which is correct.
P.P.P.P.P.S. For goodness sakes cut this nonsense out, I am in the middle of class!
One more thing- I wanted to spice it up a bit by adding a picture. So here is proof that my little brother is a hunk even though his room stinks. Besides it probably doesn't stink any more because after all he is almost thirteen years old!

I apologize for the delay...

2007-06-04T15:01:00.000-05:00

On Memorial Day we went to the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. It was pretty, as pretty as the Mississippi and Missouri rivers can be. You will see what I am saying when you look at the pictures. There was a path along the river that Jonathan and I walked, which was fun, but it was hot and humid and buggy. Here are a few of the pictures Jonathan took.

The absolutely best thing about this mini day trip though, came near the very end when we were leaving, was this-

The CUTEST little turtle in the entire world. Right there for me to pick up and kiss and cuddle with. For those of you who do not know I used to be somewhat of a turtle admirer. Although this has worn off for the most of the part (I have only about 10 turtle collectibles now opposed to the original 60 or so) I still think this darling thing rivals kittens for cuteness. I wanted to keep it and love it forever, but.... well that wouldn't have worked out so well. So I just had to say a tearful goodbye. I will remember him forever (Jonathan don't you dare change our desktop picture!)

Itinerary

2007-05-25T11:24:00.001-05:00

So this is the potential plan I have mapped out for anyone who wants to visit. First it looked like just Brooke may be coming (you better let her, Ira!) but I talked to my mom last night and she said they are thinking about coming before the family reunion in the East. Once they read this exciting fun filled time I have planned, though, they won't be able to turn me down. Plus everyone else who reads it will be calling me up asking to visit too.
So here it is- based on arriving in St. Louis on Monday, then leaving on Sunday. I tried to link most of the places, so click for more info.

Monday Evening
-arrive in St. Louis

Tuesday
Morning
-The Gateway Arch (get it out of the way)
Mid-day
-Nadoz Cafe for Lunch
-SLU Campus/Samuel Cupples House
-Contemporary Art Museum (strictly for Brooke's benefit; free for students)
Afternoon
-Cathedral Basilica (supposedly has largest mosaic collection in the world; free admission)
Evening
-Dinner at home
- walk around Compton Heights neighborhood

Wednesday
Morning
-MO Botanical Gardens
Midday
-lunch at home
Afternoon
-City Museum (it's more of a Discovery Center than a museum)
-Anheuser-Bush Brewery (free admission)
Evening
-dinner at Joanie's Pizza

Thursday
Morning
-St. Louis Zoo (free admission)
-lunch at the Boathouse
Afternoon
-Art Museum (free admission)
-Science Center (free admission)
Thursday Evening
-dinner at home

Friday
Variety of Options to choose from
-Shaw Nature Reserve
-Butterfly House
-Grant's Farm
-Six Flags
-Cardinals Game
-Various Parks
-Fox Theater
-History Museum if not too boring (free admission)
-St. Louis Symphony
-and much much more!!

Saturday
Morning
-Soulard Farmer's Market
Midday/Afternoon
-lunch/relax at home
Evening
-South Grand for dinner and window shopping

Sunday
-church
-say goodbye

Of course none of this is set in stone. I just wanted to give you an idea of the options we have. Boredom or simple relaxation is not a part of this itinerary as you can see.

Saturday Night Date Edited*

2007-05-23T18:41:00.000-05:00

Jonathan and I had a nice time Saturday night. We went out to eat to Pho Grand, an inexpensive, but tasty Vietnamese restaurant. The restaurant is in South Grand, a part of town, about two miles from our house that is known for being a multicultural experience for lack of a better term. It features several different types of food including, but not limited to- Vietnamese Ethiopian, Thai, Persian, and Afghan. (do I sound like a commercial?) Plus it is home to Jay's International Market which I got a kick out of. Jonathan didn't want to go in, but I begged him to let us look around for a minute (we were on a date after all). So we got to see frozen swamp eel, green and red bean ice cream bars, and more tasty treats! Plus they have a huge tea selection, which was relatively cheap. I probably could have spent hours there looking at all the strange foreign goodies they carried, but Jonathan dragged me out the door. It made me think of my sister and how she would have enjoyed the experience as much as me, so I decided she needs to come visit, just to come to that store with me. More to come on this later however, as I am planning our extensive itinerary during her visit.

We went to another cool store, called The Future Antiques. It is way overpriced of course, but has lots of cool stuff that makes you feel all nostalgic. For example they carry many of the old pyrex butter dishes your mom has, but you don't and wish you did. They also have lots of the gaudy jewelry like your grandma's, polyester clothes, and many other treasures similar to those found at my great-grandmother's yard sale. Yes, yes, my eyes had quite the feast with all the many things to look at in the international market and antique store on South Grand.

*I realized my link didn't work when I first posted this, so I fixed it. But I also realized the "butter dish" I am talking about is technically a "refigerator dish." I still like it best as a butter dish though.

George

2007-05-18T21:01:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday I wanted to get out and do something with Jonathan, since on Monday all I did was lay(lie?) around. I picked a good spot to go- Shaw Nature Reserve. It's way out past the city where it's pretty, kind of a branch of the Missouri Botanical Garden. I did not pick a good day however. It was a really beautiful morning, but by the time we got it together we didn't get on the Interstate until about one o'clock. On the drive over a big rainstorm hit, but we were already more than half way there so there was no turning back. It did stop raining eventually, but it was still overcast. The lady at the guide center said to watch out for ticks since they are really bad this time of year. Jonathan and I, anticipating the heat, both wore shorts and tee-shirts, so the whole time we were frantically brushing each other off from fear of the dreaded bugs. (We also used half a can of bug spray.) We hiked a trail down to a river. It was nice, but on the way back it started raining again. I had an umbrella only big enough for me, so poor Jonathan was soaked. (You can't walk with two people under an umbrella anyway.)

The good thing was I found my old pet turtle George, who ran away several years ago. I don't have a clue how he got all the way to Missouri, but considering my poor care-taker skills, I am not that surprised. He looked happier than ever, so I left him there but got a picture to remember him by.

Here is George's friend who I came very close to stomping on when I was running through a part of the trail that was lined with tall, wet, grass, -trying to avoid being eaten alive by ticks.

The picture is of poor quality because Jonathan was also in a hurry to get out of the tall grass. He's hiding in his shell, because like I said, I almost ran him over. But what can he expect? He's sitting in the middle of the road. Same with that stupid fat ugly worm that is grossing me out and ruining the picture.

Here are some nice scenery pictures Jonathan took-

We are definitely going back when it is not raining and high tick season!

Recipes Per Request

2007-05-14T22:12:00.000-05:00

Irresistible Jif Peanut Butter Cookies
-this is a recipe I got off the back of a Jif PB jar. It is delicious. You will love it I promise.

3/4 cup crunchy Jif Peanut Butter (you can use smooth, but crunchy is way better)
1/2 cup shortening
1-1/4 cups brown sugar (I substitute honey for part of the brown sugar, which makes them even softer, and a tad bit more nutritious)
3 Tb milk
1 Tb vanilla
1 egg
1-3/4 cups flour
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine peanut butter, shortening, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla in bowl. Beat at medium speed until well blended. Add egg. Beat just until blended. (I personally use a wooden spoon, not a mixer :)
3. Combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheet. Flatten slightly in crisscross pattern with tines of fork.
4. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes, or until set and just beginning to brown. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove cookies to foil to cool completely.
Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Walnut Baklava
-I got this recipe out of a Taste of Home magazine. It is pretty good, but I would like to experiment with making thicker and fewer layers, as it is very time consuming with so many thin layers.

4 cups finely chopped walnuts (toast them first for more flavor)
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tb cinnamon
1 cup butter, melted
1 package (16 ounces) frozen phyllo dough, thawed
Syrup:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a bowl, combine the walnuts, sugar and cinnamon; set aside. Grease a 13x9x2 inch baking dish with some of the melted butter. Unroll phyllo dough sheets (keep dough covered with plastic wrap while assembling to keep from drying out.)
Place one sheet of phyllo in baking dish; brush with butter. Top with a second sheet; brush with butter. Fold short ends under to fit the dish. Sprinkle with about 1/4 cup nut mixture. Repeat 18 times, layering two sheets, brushing with butter and sprinkling with nut mixture. Top with remaining dough; brush with butter. Cut into 2 inch diamonds with a sharp knife.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the syrup ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Pour over warm baklava. Cool on a wire rack.
Yield: about 3 dozen

The Office

2007-05-14T22:09:00.000-05:00

This is my new favorite show. Jonathan and I have kingdom group on Thursday night, so we aren't able to watch it that often. I got the first season and first episodes of the second season on DVD from the library. The first season Michael Scott is just so obnoxious, we had to take a break from watching it because we just couldn't handle it. But the second season was hilarious. I have never laughed so much in my life. I am looking forward to seeing the rest of the episodes I have on hold at the library.

Mother's Day like no other

2007-05-14T21:49:00.000-05:00

First of all, I want to say Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers out there. Hope your family treated you better than I did my mothers. They will be getting their cards and presents late. Oh well. It is hard to get it together in time when they are half way across the country.

Next, I wanted to say, remember how I said we were having a Mother's Day brunch at my work for about 4oo people? Well, it turns out I was wrong. We had reservations for 800 people. Needless to say, last week was extremely busy. I worked 52 hours from Wednesday through Sunday. That probably doesn't sound like that much. But when you are on your feet for fifty-one of those hours, it's pretty rough. I am not one to complain though because first of all, I was happy to get the work and the over-time, and secondly the head chef, Patrick, and head pastry chef, Brandon, basically worked non-stop for three days straight (yes that includes night). I don't know how they did it.

The actual brunch was pretty spectacular. I have never seen so much food in my life. There were literally piles of fresh bread, pastries, desserts, fresh fruit, shrimp, fish and on and on and on. Patrick carved a huge marlin out of ice, which was the centerpiece for the fish station. For the dessert station, he made an entire tropical flower bouquet out of marzipan. I wish I would have taken pictures.

When I got home on Sunday, I was exhausted. After much lying around and sleeping today I am feeling like myself again. I was lucky enough to get today and tomorrow off to recover.

The Day the Music Died

2007-05-07T23:07:00.000-05:00

Jonathan and I are so behind the times, you will laugh when you read this. We do not have cell phones. We do not have i-pods or anything of that sort. We do not have a DVD player (we just use our PS2 to watch DVDs). We still use good old CD's and CD players. You already know that we just recently got the Internet. So every time we see commercials for cell phones we laugh because they are so high tech. They are not just phones anymore. They are mp3 players, mini TVs and computers all wrapped into one. I mean how ridiculous is that? You can't go anywhere these days without hearing somebody gabbing away on their phones. It's so annoying. Especially at school and at the store and at restaurants and in cars and everywhere. But, what can you do. It's just part of the culture now. I really don't have too much of a desire to have a cell-phone, although I do admit it would be convenient. Sometimes, when I am without Jonathan I think, wow it would be nice if I could call Jonathan right now and tell him so and so... And I think I would be more popular. I am not sure why, but I think having a cell-phone gets you more friends. I am still working out this theory...
Anyway, the purpose of this post really wasn't to rag on cell phones, but to talk about my stereo. It's not even really a stereo. It's a Sony CD player boombox thing. I have had this thing since I got it for my birthday in the fifth grade, so about 10 years. For about two years now it has gone down hill. It couldn't play a brand new CD without making it skip. This made me very angry. Every time it skipped, I screamed at it, threatened to throw it out the window, banged it with my fist etc etc... The other day I yelled "you stupid thing I hate you! I wish you would die!" and proceeded to bang on it with my fist. And guess what? My wish came true. It died.
Now I am like, wow this sucks. I can't listen to my music. But then I said.... hmmm.... I wonder. So I put my CD in our Playstation2/DVD player and viola! music! It is now a PS2/DVD player/Stereo. I was happy. But I still want a new stereo. My birthday is June 14.

In the Kitchen

2007-05-07T22:51:00.000-05:00

Saturday, I spent basically the entire day in the kitchen. One of the things our church does is ask people to volunteer to make meals for families after they have a baby. Our friends Mike and Mandy had a new baby boy on Tuesday, so I said I would bring them dinner on Saturday because I didn't have to work. Also our church had a brunch on Sunday, and I was asked to bring baklava for it. So on Saturday I made-
baklava
strawberry sorbet
rolls
herbed pasta w/chicken
spinach salad

The baklava took me the longest to do. It's a time consuming process. Plus the filo dough was being a real pain so that didn't help. It was fun, but I was getting on my nerves because I kept making a big mess, so I had to clean the kitchen about three times.

Then today I made peanut butter cookies, and a chocolate cake. The cookies are for tomorrow because it is our last day of tutoring until fall and we are having a little party. The cake is for our Thursday Bible study. I have to work on Wed and Thurs so I wanted to do it ahead of time. I just stuck it in the freezer so it will be nice and fresh. Wow this is boring.

Mother's Day is this Sunday. We have a big mother's day brunch that supposedly 400 people come to, so I actually have a full week of work. I have never worked on a Sunday since I have worked at this company. But I gave in and said I would work Mother's Day. I didn't want to be the only employee out of the entire staff that wouldn't be there. It should be fun for me since I have never worked a brunch before and I won't know what to do.

Things I Did On My Break

2007-05-02T23:19:00.000-05:00

I got a mini vacation this week. No work or school. It was very unfortunate to be only scheduled for two days, but at the same time it was a nice break. I tried to relax and enjoy it and be a bit productive at the same time, but it is a lot harder than it sounds. It is hard for me to relax sometimes because I always feel like I should be doing something. I think I did a good job of doing both though.

Things I accomplished:
- made very long to-do list
- organized closet full of junk (I should have taken a before/after picture, it's that good)
- went grocery shopping
- cleaned the house
- organized all education class notes into large binder in preparation for the Praxis
- cleaned out car
- got a healthy dose of TV
- played hours of video games
- slept in
- tutored
- hung out with friend Karen and babies Annika, Olivia, and Lauren
- made dinner every night
- broke our CD player*

Well, I think that about sums it up. Back to work for me tomorrow so I better get to bed.

*more to come on this later

21 book reviews, 8 lesson plans, and 3 final exams later...

2007-04-26T23:15:00.001-05:00

Hello again. I can't believe it's been three weeks since I have done a real post. How sad! Think of all the exciting events in my life you missed out on. But I am going to try and up-date you on the real interesting stuff so you are not dying from curiousity. However I want to do it in short little posts. Long posts are just too long. Enjoy the following random tid-bits that spew forth from my brain! Don't stop til you get to an old post or have filled that empty feeling you've had inside you since April 9.

Easter

2007-04-26T23:15:00.000-05:00

Our Easter was bittersweet. We missed being with our families, but we didn't have to spend it all alone because our church had an Easter dinner potluck after the service. We stayed for that. The ham was good but the potatoes weren't as good as grandmas (naturally). No Easter candy for me though. It was probably for the best. My friend Karen told me she didn't even know what Easter egg hunts were when she was a kid. Probably because they wanted to stay focused on Jesus or something... Which I think is a pretty good idea since we get distracted with all the presents on Christmas. The sermon was really good. The whole service was probably the best Easter service I have ever been too, so that was cool. If you are in to listening to sermons (you never know) click here to hear sermons from our pastor. You can also see a video about our church we made to pass out to the people in the community. I am warning you though, because of the video, the website takes my computer forever to load.

Little Monkeys.... everywhere

2007-04-26T23:14:00.002-05:00

Ariel's birthday was a few weeks ago (if you dont' know who Ariel is, then too bad, you are just going to have to go back and read my first posts). I wanted to do something to make her feel special, so I decided to bake some cupcakes for her and everyone at tutoring. Taste of Home magazine had a recipe for cupcakes that were too cute too pass up. I didn't bake them from scratch which I usually try to do, but who would when I needed to bake four dozen with only two muffin pans, and then decorate each and every one with that special little touch?

I also got her a pretty good present- a cute little teddy bear with lipgloss and nail polish stuck in its arms and a necklace around its neck, a slinky, silly putty, and the leftover m&m eyes. I think she looks pretty happy, don't you?

What I have been doing for the past two weeks

2007-04-26T23:14:00.001-05:00

I can't tell you how good it feels to be done with school for the semester. Last week I worked a full week, so I hardly had time to get any school work done. Remember how I am a sleep addict? Well I figured out I was just getting too much sleep. Since it is impossible for me to get up any earlier than is absolutely necessary, I decided I would just have to start staying up later. I changed my sleep schedule so that I go to bed about 12:30 or 1 and get up at seven. I don't feel as groggy and tired when I wake up. Plus it gave me a reason to drink coffee. I have discovered how nice it is to drink black coffee when I get to work. I started calling it my happy juice because it has this magical effect on me, where I feel alert and in a good mood. No wonder Jonathan sucks the stuff down like a hummingbird does kool-aid. (Don't ask me where that came from). So with the help of added hours in my day, I managed to write five book reviews in two days (phew!). Then this week I had to write the eight lesson plans for my language arts class in two days. That was fun. Thankfully I had Monday and Tuesday off, so I had the time. I hadn't cleaned my house for like three weeks, so Tuesday night I spent three hours cleaning. Wow! the bathroom is sparkling along with the fridge. I hate dirty fridges. How can you put new groceries in a dirty refrigerator? Don't do it. Wednesday I had to teach one of my lesson plans to the class. I was nervous but I think I did really well. The finals for my classes were take-home, so I got those done. And for my music methods class, my professor exempted me from the final (Yay!) since I knew everything on it anyway. So there you go. I have three weeks of freedom until summer school... but we aren't thinking about that right now are we... because we are enjoying having a clean house and no homework!

What now?

2007-04-26T23:14:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, it is super cram time for Jonathan, so I don't get to spend my free time with him. So I won't distract him, I bought two new video games to get addicted to. I should probably take advantage of the weather though. It has been really warm and sunny, although the past couple of days have been wet. I need to buy some food (my fridge is ready). I made my grocery and meal list tonight while watching The Office and Earl. Oh and here's a tip for all of you who shop at Cost-co and Sam's Club. Learn from my mistakes.

Things not to buy at Sam's Club (especially if you have only two people in your family):

honey
vanilla extract
any kind of spice or herb
produce
dairy
candy (you'll eat it all)
blue cheese
mayonaise, ketchup, mustard etc...
clothes for your mom (hey, it's one stop shopping!)

Feel free to add to the list!

One more thing... Please help me out here. What is the difference between Cheese Its and Cheese Nips? This has been keeping me up at night.

For my faithful readers

2007-04-18T00:43:00.000-05:00

I am sorry I have been neglecting you. However, I will continue to neglect you until at least next week. I am swamped with homework.
I have an entire language arts unit (8 lesson plans) and three book reviews to write, and three finals to complete, all by next Wednesday.
Pray for me.

Spoiled

2007-04-10T00:57:00.000-05:00

This is the beautiful man whom I love:

It is now the point in the semester where the crack-down begins for Jonathan. Papers are due; professors want to employ him. He has been working very hard on a paper that is due tomorrow. He has had a difficult time writing it, so he is pretty discouraged right now.
So I just want to tell you, Jonathan, how proud of you I am and how much I appreciate you.

In case you readers did not know, I am as spoiled as they come. Let me explain:
Every morning Jonathan wakes up anywhere between 4 and 5:50 am. He takes a shower, and does homework until it is time for him to wake me up at 7 am. My alarm goes off, but it is across the room, so I never get up to turn it off. Jonathan comes in and turns it off for me. He gives me an extra few minutes of sleep while he gets me a large cup of cold water (I am terribly thirsty in the morning). I am not a morning person. You already know about my sleep addiction. So I put up a pretty good fight when it comes to getting up. Jonathan is ever patient though, even though he often has to literally drag me out of bed. While I get ready for work, my lovely husband prepares my breakfast.
-egg in a basket (just like mom used to make)
-bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats (with almonds)
-orange juice
Depending on whether or not I have to go to school after work, Jonathan will pack a lunch for me (paper bag and all) and put together a change of clothes for me also. Then he drives me to work and drops me off. If I don't have school that day, he picks me up too.
But wait there is more-
He makes dinner at least three days a week.
He usually helps with the laundry or does it himself.
He often vacuums for me.
He almost always cleans the kitchen.
He goes grocery shopping with me when he can.

There are certain things I never or rarely have to do, because Jonathan does it all for me:
-take out the trash
-get gas
-dust
-go to the bank
-hang up my coat (I don't know why but I despise hanging clothes up, especially coats)
-drop off the rent
-answer the phone
-rub my feet
-water the plants
-carry in the groceries
-make the bed
that is all I can think of that moment, but I assure there is more.
He is the most intelligent, thoughtful, loving, helpful, funny, handsome man I know.
I love you Jonathan. Thank-you for all you do for me.

Lower Back Pain

2007-04-05T18:14:00.000-05:00

I am probably not one to complain... but today at work I spent three hours trying to get egg membrane out of egg shells. Let me explain... for our fancy-pants Easter Brunch, we must have extravagant desserts. One of them being white chocolate pots de creme in a hollowed out eggshell. What does that mean for us? Use the special egg tool to cut the top of an egg off, dump the raw egg out, and try to scrape out the invisible egg membrane- all without cracking the shell. What fun!