Thing #36: Start my own blog

My new favorite place!

2009-12-13T14:32:00.000-08:00

To celebrate the rebirth of my blog, I give you "Kickapoo Joy Juice" from my new favorite store, The Soda Gallery, in my new favorite area, The Bishop Arts District.

Courtney and Phil's pastor took them there for lunch a couple of weeks ago, and they liked it so much that they called me to have dinner there with them that night. We ate at a little Italian restaurant called Vitto. While we were there, a group of carolers came in! It was so Christmasy and cute! All the shops were taking part in a Christmas Jingle Bell celebration, so they all had different types of drinks and snacks out for munching and browsing!

I fell in love with the Soda Gallery the second I stepped in the door. It's such a cool store! They have Dublin Dr. Pepper, all different types of Coke, a plethora of Root Beer, and Sioux City Sasparilla, among countless others! Everything is in glass bottles, too. Call me old fashioned, but I love that.

Courtney and Phil knew that I'd love this area as soon as they saw it, and when they saw how excited I was about the Soda Gallery, they got a great idea for my birthday present. My friend Peter came into Dallas for the weekend, and we met up with another friend, Dan, and Courtney and Phil in...you guessed it...the Bishop Arts District! After lunch was over, they took me across the street to pick out a six pack of the sodas of my choice! It took quite some time, but I ended up with a great selection of crazy flavors.

Kickapoo Joy Juice has been my first to try so far. I have no idea why, but it's called "The Original Dogpatch Recipe." It's super sweet and citrusy- kind of like a hint of Mountain Dew in a bottle of Sprite. Some may say too sweet, but I thought it was deeeeelicious!

More to come on flavors as I taste-test them!

The waking up of a pug

2008-12-11T20:16:00.000-08:00

Who likes to sleep on large tupperware...

Waking up with a boy in my bed...

2008-12-03T20:13:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, and I realized how much you all need an update on the adventures of Sheldon the wonder-pug! As soon as I got home on Saturday night from the land of cheese and the Packers, Courtney and I drove down to Kaufman to pick up little Sheldon.

Mike and his wife Lisa live on a ranch in Athens, TX, and they have two pugs -- Boteefah and Crotch Focker. This was their first and last litter of pug puppies because Boteefah gave birth to a huge litter of 7, and she's a pretty tiny pug, so it was hard on her. Anyway, I've certainly been blessed by their puppies, so I'm grateful for little Boteefah!
Ruby and Dora didn't really know what to do with him at first, and he was pretty timid, but they're starting to rough house a little now!

We hung out all day on Sunday, and we'd play hard, and then he's crash, and I would read New Dawn (yes, Twilight is a great series!). Unfortunately I had to go back to work on Monday, but Courtney has the month of December off while she's waiting to start her new job, so she's being a great pug aunt and taking care of Sheldon during the day. He's been really good and not having many accidents at all. We keep a little log of all Sheldon's activities (and I mean all), so we can all be in the know, and Courtney kept me updated on his day through her blog.

He's had a couple fleas, so on Monday night, Sheldon got the spa treatment. For puppies who can't have flea powder yet, dawn dishwashing soap is supposed to help get rid of fleas. Afterward, I clipped his nails and cleaned his ears.

"Let me out, mom!! I'm wet!"

"This is better...maybe I'll go to sleep..."

Sheldon has also gotten to have a lot of company! On Sunday night, Courtney's sister-in-law, Kelsey and her husband Lance brought Ann and Debbie over to meet him. Ann and Debbie are best friends and really loved meeting Sheldon.

He also got to play with Megan, the daughter of one of Courtney's friends from church. She LOVES pugs and American Girls. Luckily, Courtney did too as a kid, so she has some Megan got to play with.

You may be thinking, he's such a laid-back puppy! Wow, so good! But.....watch out he goes CRAZY after work and has a strange obsession with my forearmpits, which he likes to lick and bite. We're working on dominance issues. I'm the alpha, not little Sheldon. Yes, he truly is one of God's little weirdos!

And the title? Well, last night, I made a little blockade so Sheldon wouldn't have to be in his crate because he hates it and cries to get out and be on my bed, but I'm trying to make sure his flea problem doesn't get worse, so I don't want him to sleep with me. So, I put him down beside me, and he cried for a while but I pet him, and he finally fell asleep (thanks Trey). But I woke up at 4:30 this morning because he was sleeping on my neck (his favorite spot), and for the life of me, I cannot remember picking him up during the night! Maybe he is wonder pug...

In love and obsessed...

2008-11-23T20:58:00.000-08:00

I think I've visited my blog more than anyone else this weekend. Quite possibly more than everyone combined. How can you possibly love something this much when you just meet them?! I just can't wait for Sheldon to come home! I spent Saturday morning at Target and Petco getting all the essentials for puppy-upbringing, including a cute (yet still masculine) leash, the tiniest little harness, food bowls, food, treats, toys, etc! Needless to say, Sheldon is going to be well loved!

Ruby and Dora are enjoying lots of quality Aunt Bea time since Courtney and Phil left for Darcey's wedding yesterday morning, and we went for a long walk tonight, but at the end, I said, "Who wants TURKEY TURKEY TURKEY?" and they sure sprinted home for that!!

I'm realizing that maybe living by myself is slightly over-rated. I totally freaked out last night because when I got home, the carbon monoxide detector was beeping, and even though it was just the battery warning, it made me really worried, so I grabbed Ruby and Dora, turned off the heat upstairs, closed my door and opened my window wide! It was kind of chilly, but I made sure to cover the pugs up with a big quilt, and every once in a while they'd get under the covers with me. Man, I just get scared so easily and always imagine the worst. Apartment living is going to be a bigger step for me than I thought!

Sleepy time now...I have to go to work tomorrow.

I'm a Mommy!!

2008-11-21T18:58:00.000-08:00

Introducing...

Sheldon! (aka Don Juan Triumphant)

The adoption went through tonight, and now I'm the proud mommy of a brand new baby pug! Since I'll be going out of town for Thanksgiving, I got to meet him tonight, but he went back to his house for the rest of the week. I get to bring him home when I fly in on Saturday evening.

He is the most precious pug ever!! It was really cold outside, so he was shivering, and I put him inside my vest, and he was just so snuggly and adorable. Mike said he was a real goofball and loved to make everybody laugh. Right now, his parents have been calling him CJ for Crotch Junior! Haha, his dad's name is Crotch Penny Berry Focker, named Crotch just because he's kind of a "crotch". They were really funny, and they obviously love their pugs! Who couldn't?!

Here are some more pictures to enjoy!! Oh, my vest still smells like baby pug, and I never want to wash it!!!!

St. Louis!!

2008-10-22T18:24:00.000-07:00

So, I think a few updates are in line. A few weeks ago, Trey found out that he was going to have to work on the weekend that he originally planned to come visit me, and I really wanted to see him, so I booked a flight to St. Louis!

On Friday night, we met Rick and Debbie at Ted Drewes for the best concretes in the world. They had just gotten back from a Blues Hockey game, where they were supposed to have gotten a free blizzard for 3 goals, but it turns out they weren't supposed to run that promotion. Oops! Ted Drewes is better, anyway!

On Saturday, after some yummy pancakes from the Doerrs' bed and breakfast, Rick, Debbie, Trey and I headed out to play golf. Even though we were pretty slow, the group in front of us was painfully slow, so we ended up playing for close to 7 hours! But we had a really good time, and Rick found a wealth of golf balls!

Trey takes a good picture while driving a golf cart, huh?

Here's a better one. Notice the hat...oh such a stylish golfer!

A mother-son photo op on the course! It was a really fun day.

Isn't this little guy cute? Trey found him in the leaves while we were waiting for a group to pass us. I think he was a little scared at first, but he like us after a little bit.

Sunday we went up to Prin to visit Karen and Peter, so we had lunch at Jimmy Johns, where I was dared to eat a whole wad of alfalfa sprouts (not recommended, and aren't I such a lady?) if Peter would ask if they delivered to Prin. Then we went back to Karen's place (which is huge and really cool). We played with the cats for a while, which was pretty entertaining. They have these wands with toys on the end that are just as amusing for us humans as they are for the cats. Trey looks like a giant in this picture! I think Peter was trying to fish for a cat.

Here's Peter and I having fun on the tramp out back.

And this is me hula hooping one legged while spinning in circles. Beat that, Wii Fit!

It was a really great weekend, and before I left, Trey and I went to Stir Crazy, which I think is one of my favorite restaurants in St. Louis! Sorry it's been such a long time since I've updated! More to come soon, but for now I've got to study!

Attacked!

2008-10-22T17:34:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, walking out of my building after work, I was attacked! Someone had a camera, so they might have gotten evidence of it, but I'm not sure. It all happened so fast, and it was really noisy. It may sound like science fiction, but I assure you, it's not. I could describer my attacker as a white dragon, and luckily he didn't stick around long enough to show me his firebreathing abilities. Ok, so the real story is that there is an Asian Art Gallery connected to the Trammel Crow Center, and today they had some show going on, and there were drummers and two dragons dancing and "greeting" people as they walked out of the building. I think most people were scared and went out the other side, but I thought it looked kind of cool, so I walked out, not really realizing how close they planned on getting! He kind of danced the dragon head by me for a while and then kept dancing for the onlookers. It was pretty random and definitely made me laugh!

Another week begins!

2008-09-28T19:22:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that this week is October already! I am so ready for cooler weather! This week, it's supposed to dip down to 82 for a high, though! I think I'm going to wear my parka. Anyway, I am done with my "Lock-In" week at work, so that means my schedule gets a little more flexible, but no more free lunches, and my floor will be very empty! I will be the only person in a cube on my side of the floor...

This was a really fun weekend! Friday night was the debate (which I only watched part of), and then I got to talk to Trey for a little while as he was finishing up helping some friends pack their house. On Saturday, I went running on Katy Trail with my running girls, and it's a really nice place to run. It's busy, but much less intense than running and competing with the bikers at White Rock Lake. They have separate trails for runners with that rubber track and a paved trail for bikers and rollerbladers.

If you're looking for a funny movie, you should definitely go to Ghost Town. I went with a couple girls from work and a girl from church this weekend, and it was great! The premise sounds more like a scary movie because this man sees dead people, but there's nothing scary about it at all.

Sunday was a pretty normal day for me, and it was nice to enjoy the weekend. After church, I had lunch with a friend, then shopped around Target, came home, did some random things around the house and helped make dinner. It was delicious, if I do say so myself! I even touched raw chicken (ugly raw chicken face still happens, but it's getting better)! We made Elegant Chicken and Pasta, which is chicken and whipping cream and parmesan cheese all baked together to make a kind of chicken alfredo, and you serve it over pasta. Soooo good!

Anyway, time for me to head to bed! I guess I'll be dreaming of chicken. Oh, and Courtney asked me, "How long does the cooken chick?" lol...

Whoa!

2008-09-18T05:50:00.000-07:00

My mom started a blog!! You can visit it here or click on the links to the right. Sorry for the recent lull in posts, folks. This weekend, I'll try to do some more in depth posting.

Courtney, Chelsea and I are running the Tour Des Fleurs 10K on Saturday morning benefiting the Dallas Arboretum, which is very close to the area that I'd like to live someday. We've been training since the beginning of August, and we're working towards the White Rock Half Marathon in December, so this race is perfectly timed in our schedule! They even gave us really nice dry weave shirts that are cute too-- pink and green for the girls, and I think the guys had navy and red. Haha, and I was just reading on the website that it's the "Best Post-Party in Town" with a complimentary massage and lots of food from tons of different vendors, Einstein Bros included!

It's time for me to study now-- my exam is 2 months away now! Who thought that after college, I'd still be taking exams and studying? Well, actually, I guess I did since I signed up for this before college ended...lol. I hope everyone has a great end of the week and weekend too! Happy Thursday!

Correction

2008-09-07T20:48:00.000-07:00

For those of you keeping up with the blogging competition between Trey and I, I would like to add clarification to a comment he made in his most recent blog post, "Fall Begins". It may be misleading and you may be wondering how we are dating right now since I "denied [him], shot [him] down right where [he] stood" at that fateful point of our bikeride. Despite these allocations, I really really really liked him, but was leaving for Japan the next fall and thought he might be in New Zealand the following winter, so I thought the timing was rather unfortunate to start a relationship. However, just a few weeks later, while watching Ben Hur, he grabbed my hand, and I didn't want to let go and had resisted his charm for too long, so I held his hand for the rest of the movie, and thus the adventure began. So, don't feel too sorry for him, he won in the end (or beginning...)!

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Baker Sisters' Cafe

2008-09-07T20:28:00.001-07:00

Tonight, I made the most wonderful batch of fried green tomatoes ever! They were tomatoes from the Farmers' Market, which is probably why they were so good, and even Dora ate a few (oops...we weren't paying attention). I don't really use a recipe-- just kind of eyeball it, but tonight, I did double batter, which was definitely the right choice.

Fried Green Tomatoes
Heat about 1/2 inch of veggie oil in a pan on med-high. In one bowl, mix cornmeal, Lowry's season salt, and pepper. I just mix up enough so that you can smell the seasoning, but so that it's not overpowering. In another bowl, combine 2 eggs and a little milk and mix up with a fork. Slice tomatoes a little thicker than 1/4 inch. Dip in eggs and then cover in cornmeal mixture. Do it again! Set in hot oil, and turn when that side turns golden brown. If it turns too dark too quickly, lower the heat-- they're no good burned, but you also don't want to cook them forever!
Take em out when both sides are golden. I like to drain them on a cooling rack with paper towels underneath. Serve 'em hot with ranch dressing or just plain. Yumm. Southern cookin'. Gotta love that fried goodness. Phil doesn't even like tomatoes, but he liked these!

Time Tested Beauty Tips

2008-09-07T20:21:00.000-07:00

On my iGoogle homepage, I have beauty tips, which are usually pretty worthless, but this one, I really like. Apparently, Audrey Hepburn is usually given the credit for it, but it was actually written by a man by the name of Sam Levenson. It was just one of Audrey Hepburn's favorite poems.

"Time Tested Beauty Tips"

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.

For poise, walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; Never throw out anybody.

Remember, If you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows, and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!

Inspired by Samantha

2008-09-06T17:55:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to get a haircut, but I've also been a little nervous until I saw that Samantha had gotten one. She told me to go for it, so I did! This is for you, mom, since you wanted to see pictures. My hairdresser's name was Fouzia, and she was really nice! I went to a place called Ulta-- never heard of it before, but I'd go back.

The Best Labor Day Weekend Ever

2008-09-02T17:46:00.000-07:00

Let's be honest, even though I have a great job and a great place to live, it's been a little harder than I thought it would be getting used to this whole "real world" thing. For one, and probably the biggest one, I miss my friends. It's weird not being able to run down the hall or across the lawn and then go to the pub and play games or watch a movie or some other random concoction of funness we might have.

So, when I first moved to Dallas, it was exciting. You know, having to rush around and get things done and feeling like you've got things to accomplish and zooming through the list of to-dos makes you feel good. I've been working for a month now, and half of that time was spent in D.C. for training, and even though it was really cool to go there and get to meet a lot of new people, I was really having a hard time being excited about what I am doing. I mostly keep thinking that I should be doing something more exciting, something that will give me this awesome life story, and I can tell people how I traveled all over the world after college and took pictures of beautiful places and people and met interesting people and all of that. And that would be cool, and I would love that and have an amazing time, I'm sure.

You're probably wondering about now how this was the Best Labor Day Weekend Ever if so far all I've talked about is what I miss and what I wish I could have. So, here I go. I was talking to Trey and saying how I get really unsure of myself when things change in my life, and his reply was that I should make a list of things I am grateful for whenever I feel like that. A lot of this is coming to me right now...here we go: I looked up the word "bless" in the Bible, and in the New International Version, it comes up 62 times. The Sermon on the Mount is full of "blessed's", and they all seem to be for people who are not on top of the world-- they're poor in spirit or mourning or hungering. And then there are the peacemakers and the merciful and the pure in heart. Who knows what they are doing. They could be out in the world doing something really amazing or maybe just working at home, but they are blessed because of how they are doing it.

When I look at the people who mean the most to me and have helped me the most, it's pretty clear to me that they'd be the same no matter what their job was. Story time: I was really shy when I was in elementary and middle school. Even if I knew the answer, it terrified me to speak up in class, and I had a teacher in the 5th grade who loved to call on people--not to embarrass them, but she was really fun and young and spunky and just wanted everybody to get their chance to talk. One day, I think we were diagramming sentences (not joking, I loved that!), and Ms. Pascal called on me. I must have given off some mental alarm that showed her how mortified I was and probably waited for a while to answer, and then she just said to me, "All you can be is wrong." I don't really remember what happened after that (probably blacked out...just kidding), but I've remembered her saying that to me a lot.

What I am getting out of all of this for tonight is that being grateful and blessings are not about being right and wrong, and they are certainly not about freaking out about the future. Worry is ingratitude in advance (thanks, Warren!). So, right now, I am grateful for:
1) seeing Trey these last two weekends
2) having the pugs to come home to every night
3) most days getting to see Courtney and Phil
4) tubing down the Comal River
5) my license that will coming back to me soon, hopefully!
6) having a good job right out of college
7) being able to afford a new car
8) my mom and dad getting to go to China

It's time for me to go to bed now. More to come later on!

Strange Occurrences in A106

2008-08-27T21:04:00.000-07:00

Last night, the group went to Dave and Buster's, and when I left, everything was normal, but when I came back to my room...I thought everything was normal, but then I went in to the bathroom. The toilet seat was up! Don't get that one... I don't think they clean at night, and I certainly did not put the toilet seat anywhere new. I locked my door when I went to sleep last night-- latch and dead bolt.

Oh the adventures of being an actuary!

2008-08-27T19:46:00.000-07:00

From the website beanactuary.com--

Top 10 Reasons to be an actuary:

You want a career that is dynamic and challenging. aka-- smart people are making codes confusing and nearly impossible to read
You don’t want to go to graduate school. aka-- only 13 exams that you can pass in 7 years if you are a genius
You want a career with superior job security through economic cycles. aka-- no one wants to learn how to do this no matter what the price!
You want a professional title, but don’t want to be a doctor, lawyer or accountant. aka-- because even though they have to go through more exams, actuaries are waaay cooler, especially than accountants.
You want a career with many opportunities that will provide you with skills that are transferrable across multiple industries. aka-- SCUBA diving, rock climbing, photographer, fudge maker, bread baker
You would like to "earn while you learn." why is that in quotes? is it supposed to be sarcastic?
You want a career that you control because advancement is merit-based. aka-- what's the rush?
You want to be able to choose among outstanding job offers. aka-- get a job straight out of college!
You want a highly competitive salary and excellent benefits. aka-- if you're in the business of pension plans, you better have one.

And the #1 reason to Be An Actuary is ...

You are self-motivated, goal oriented, and have superior math aptitude and communication skills. aka-- this is a job where telling math jokes is not only acceptable, but highly encouraged!

Haha! Whatever! My 10 List for being an actuary:

Free drinks (like cokes and chocolate milk and juice) whenever you want
Dessert twice a day during training. Plus snack time, twice a day also!
Walking to training and almost falling over because you’re still not so comfortable in heels and turning around cautiously just to find out that you were not in fact the only witness (anything to make someone’s walk to training more pleasurable, right?).
Being in retirement at 22.
Having clients casually say “I think those people are at summer camp” and be serious.
Mini golf, indoors with black lights. The greens were about 7 feet long by 3 feet wide with different “obstacles” like shoots and bumps.
Global locations.
48 math nerds. Dave and Buster’s. Scavenger hunt. Running required. I’ll say no more…
Conversations that include, “If you touch my calculator, I’ll kill you!”

And the #1 reason to Be An Actuary is ...

Free flight to St. Louis to visit Trey for the middle weekend of training in D.C.!

Washington D.C.

2008-08-19T14:59:00.000-07:00

I'm staying just outside of our nation's capital in Potomac, MD for training for my job! It's not very close to D.C., but we have a free night tomorrow, so I'm hoping that a few people will want to go into the city to check out some monuments and do some typical D.C. things. I've never been here before, so it would kill me not to check out the sites. Flying in, we flew right by the Washington Monument and White House, so that was awesome! So, I grabbed my first cab by myself, and he took me to the place where we're staying, and he was a really interesting guy. He was from Sierra Leon, but then he moved to London a long time ago and finally came to D.C. a few years ago. He and his family travel all over the US, and they drive everywhere because they can get out and see the sites in the different cities they go through. Then, it was time for training to start. Some of the sessions have been really interesting, and others have been really boring. I like being able to practice rather than just listen to people talk. Anyway, I'm having a lot of fun getting to know people and learning that actuaries are actually fun, social people!

Yum!

2008-08-10T11:43:00.000-07:00

Breakfast:
6 biscuits
6 Turkey sausage links
6 tablespoons of syrup

Lunch:
5 sandswiches each with:
1 hoagie roll
3 slices of turkey
1 oz of cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon of mayo
5 nectarines
6 oz of chips

Snack:
1 oz of cheddar cheese

Dinner:
24 oz filet mignon
4 twice baked potatoes (2 whole potatoes)
41 spears of asparagus

Dessert:
6 pieces of fudge

Yes. That's a lot of food, I know. Surprising how I keep my figure, huh? Well, not quite the truth, but that's what I would have eaten yesterday if I were to get the number of calories that Michael Phelps has on a daily basis. Yes, 8-10,000 calories a day! So, if you love to eat and want to keep your figure, here's the diet for you: the Olympics.

Welcome to Watson Wyatt Worldwide where we want to work!

2008-08-06T20:12:00.000-07:00

This this the view from my cubicle! My cube needs to be spruced up a little more to feel like home, but I can't complain because I have a window! If you look closely, the big open area on the very right is Love Field airport.

Yesterday was kind of a slow day at work. I don't remember what I was doing, but I dropped my purple pen (which is my favorite), and look at how it landed! Whoa dang!!

Now, sit back. I'm going to tell you two stories.

Story Number 1:
Courtney and Phil found out by chance that their pastor was going to Maine for the wedding of President Bush's nephew. They thought he was going to be one of a few officiants in the wedding. Cool, huh?

Story Number 2:
One of the girls at work was on PTO when I started on Monday. When she got back on Tuesday, I asked her where she went on vacation. "To Maine with my family," she said. She also happened to mention going to a wedding-- the wedding of George P. Bush and Amanda Williamson. The President of the United States was going to be there, and so someone told her not to bug him for pictures, but apparently he came up and took a picture with her and a group of her friends just because he felt like it. Cool, huh?

Wait! What?
Walking to lunch today, I was talking to Elizabeth and said, "Hey, I think that my sister's pastor was at the same wedding you were at this weekend."
Elizabeth: "Really?"
Me: "Yeah, I think he was an officiant or did some readings!"
Elizabeth: "Was he the Episcopal minister who did the ceremony?"
Me: "No, he's Methodist."
Elizabeth: "Oh. I can't think of anyone else who did the ceremony...Hmm...Wait, is his name Jim Bowden?"
Me: "Yes! I'm pretty sure that's him!"
Elizabeth: "Crazy! Yeah, he gave the blessing before dinner, and I sat next to him!"

So, out of the tons of people I'm sure were there, Courtney and Phil knew 1, and I knew 1. Little did we know that they would sit next to each other at dinner! Cool, huh?

Saturday...Monday...Wait! Where'd Sunday go?

2008-08-04T19:26:00.000-07:00

Saturday night, Courtney, Phil, and I went to the Rangers' game! Some of their friends from church have season tickets, and when they can't go, they offer them to the Moser's. Unfortunately, the Rangers lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, but there were a few really cool plays. At one point, we were down (I don't know by how many), we had no outs, and the bases were loaded. I was soo hoping to see my first ever grand slam, so I got out my camera...

They didn't get it that time, but they got another chance! I took another picture, but then I looked up. The picture wasn't quite as pretty: 2 outs, 2 strikes, 2 fouls, bases loaded. It would take a miracle to have this batter hit a home run for a grand slam. So, I put my camera down. Then...smack! He hit it right past the third baseman, and they were running!!

After a while, we all got a little tired of the game, and so we began trying to find our hidden talents! Look at us!

And today was my first official day of work! I'm not sure where Sunday went... I was so grateful that traffic was not bad today. I left a little before 8 and was up from the parking garage by 8:35! Wow. Anyway, I got to re-meet a lot of people from last summer, and I got a new cube with a window view! Apparently, hawks come and sit on a ledge right outside my office, and sometimes they bring roadkill! Eww! I have my first meeting to talk about client work on Wednesday afternoon, and I leave for training in D.C. in less than two weeks now! Crazy!

An informative note about the poll on Trey's blog: I am really really really really really terrified of snakes! Please submit your vote accordingly.

Ye also ought to wash one another's feet

2008-08-02T08:52:00.000-07:00

Dora is such a Godly pug.

Waaaay Beyond the Bubble...and sorry, Courtney, I blogged first!

2008-08-02T06:56:00.000-07:00

In fact, 704 miles Beyond the Bubble. My favorite place to go around Prin was surprisingly only 10 minutes away, a feat that seems impossible for a college located in little old Elsah. It's a drink store run by a Principia alum and her mom called Beyond the Bubble, which is an ironic play on words because it was supposed to be a way to escape the phenomenon of the Prin bubble where you never see anyone other than fellow Principians. However, "the Bubble", as we called this little place in Grafton, was almost another little Prino satellite. You were pretty much guaranteed to run into at least one other student or faculty or staff member when you went there. Nevertheless, no matter who you ran into, this was one place that was hard to say goodbye to. What can I say about those little bobas of tapioca goodness? The tea part is basically a milk tea base combined with fruity flavors of your choice, and the bubbles are actually called boba, which look like large fish eyeballs but are really giant tapioca balls. It's great to watch someone who's never had it before get there first boba. They give you gigantic straws so you can suck the boba up, and the first reflex is usually, "What the heck is this in my mouth?!", but after you get used to it, you start to like chewing your drink.

Anyway, on one of our last visits, my roommate Marcia and I decided to purchase at-home Bubble Tea kits. She got pineapple, and I decided on honeydew, and then we swapped half of each of ours so we could try both flavors. It's been sitting around waiting to be used all summer, and yesterday was the day! Courtney took the day off work, so in the afternoon, we watched Becoming Jane and made Bubble Tea.

First of all, uncooked boba looks and smells like dogfood. They're these brown, crumbly balls, and they permeate the entire bag with their smell.
Then you plop them in boiling water. Gotta get better, right? Wrong. Ewwwwww
But, finally after they boil for about 30 minutes, they turn black and start looking like boba are supposed to. I was going to say normal, but there's not really anything normal about these things! You can kind of see them through the steam.
Courtney liked the next step a lot! Give the boba a little shower... She liked the plopping, slurping sounds it made. It reminded me of the banana noise, and for those of you who know me, well, yuck!

Sorry, folks, the video doesn't want to upload right now.

After it was all rinsed, we made our smoothies. We used Jasmine Tea, which was recommended, but it smelled (and consequently tasted) a little too much like herbal lotion, so I don't think I'd do that again. Here are Courtney and I with our finished products--she had Chai and I had honeydew:Courtney and I decided that someday we'll have th Baker Sister's Cafe, and one side will serve fried dill pickles and fried green tomatoes, and the other will be Bubble Tea. Emmeline and L-Louise look forward to doin' business with y'all in the the future, loves.

By far, the funniest part of this experiment was the warning label. Watch out Gramma!

Inspirational

2008-08-02T06:46:00.000-07:00

If you haven't seen this yet, you should watch it. It is well worth the time.

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture.

Me + Garmin = <3

2008-07-30T19:15:00.000-07:00

Today was another crazy day in the next episode of the sitcom "Brittany Becomes an Adult". First of all, I lost my Tennessee registration for my wonderful little Honda. Or maybe I never put in my car. I don't really know, but I didn't have it. But in order to get a Texas license, first you have to be registered in Texas. But in order to be registered in Texas, you have to have Texas insurance and your current registration. Tags are not enough proof, and if you want to use your other insurance, the card isn't enough-- you have to bring in your policy so that they can make sure it complies with Texas standards. Oh, and did I mention that the fee for new residents is $193.80, and you can't use credit or debit cards? It has to be cash or check. And the check can't be from an out-of-state bank. Which basically means you either have to bring a whole heck of a lot of cash with you when you move or get a bank ASAP. So, my awesome dad spent an hour at the Shelby County Clerk's office yesterday to get me a replacement registration, which he then scanned in and emailed to me. Unfortunately, the scanner was scanning them at an image size of .2 inches wide and .4 inches tall. Sooooo, new plan. I found an Office Max, and had Dad fax me my registration. Presto! I had it! Yes! Score!

BTW (that was for you, dear sister, who speaks in abbreviations), my garmin was working hard with all the addresses I plugged into it, which was AMAZING! "In point 9 miles, take a left. When possible, make a U-turn. Turn right. Turn right. TURN RIGHT. Recalculating." Wonderful!

Then, it was time to go to the bank. So, I plugged in the address for Wells Fargo, and I followed it until it said, "Arriving at destination on right." That's so much better with the British accent. Anyway, I was trying to figure out where the heck the Wells Fargo was, and then I saw it...the Tom Thumb. No tellers, just a machine operated ATM which needed...yes...the debit card that I do not have yet. So, it was back to the car and time to put the garmin to the test. And she passed with flying colors, leading me to a true Wells Fargo Bank that was only 1.3 miles away from my next destination!

The Tax Office
I brought this huge file folder of information because I didn't want to even come close to forgetting one document that would make me have to go back home and waste more time! Needless to say, I'm sure I looked like a geek lugging it around, but I had everything I needed! And they gave me Texas plates right there! No mailing or anything, just here are your plates! That process only took a half an hour or so.

The Driver's License Office
I don't know why it takes so long, but it does. I got there when they were on number 42, and my number was 59. Two hours later they had somehow blitzed through 54...55...56...57...58...here it comes!! Nope. I did not get included in the lucky blitz streak. But about 10 minutes later, they called me up, took my picture, and gave me a temporary license. I got in my car and sang really loud to Michael Buble's "Moondance" on the way home. It was fantastic, and now I am officially a Texan in every legal way possible. I even said "fixing to" today. Ahh!

Oh oh the Wells Fargo Wagon is a comin' down the street!

2008-07-28T22:40:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy day! I got a vehicle inspection this morning at the Honda dealership (along with a complimentary Dr. Pepper and car wash), which was step number 1 in a 3-step process to become a registered and licensed driver in the state of Texas! Courtney took the day off work, so we hung out at the dealership and looked at new cars while her oil got changed and mine got inspected. Then we went to Firehouse Subs for lunch, which I've deemed as my favorite. If you've never eaten there, you are seriously missing out.

Then I got me my own bank, but unfortunately Wachovia is not quite there with the free checking and savings account. While I was setting everything at Wells Fargo, I was chatting with Teresa (the girl helping me), and she said she was in East Texas in this little town nobody's ever heard of called Longview. Little did she know that I had just been there two weeks ago for Samantha and Tommy's wedding! And then she said she moved around a bunch and got to Richmond, but said she didn't know Karen (lol, that would have been crazy!). What a random coincidence though!

And tonight I got a new cell phone and bookshelves and a hamper! So, after I go to TxDOT tomorrow morning, I'm heading back here to put my handy skills to the test!

Dora fell asleep for a while on my bed and woke up looking a little confused. "Why am in a Queen bed instead of a King, and where's Ruby?!"

Almost a Texan

2008-07-27T15:50:00.000-07:00

Good news, folks: the final results came in, and it turns out that my graduation was legitimate! I know you were all worried since I didn't cover that topic for almost the entire summer. I think the verdict was that even though I had way too many credits, they would let it slide in my case and give me a diploma. Whew! It was a close call, but it's all ok now.

Summertime... I love summer, and that's one thing I'm really going to miss about being in school. At the end of last summer, I had big plans for this summer: traveling on my own, taking pictures of exotic locations, finding an apartment, buying a car, moving to Dallas, and ending with starting my job. But what do you know? Plans change! I did absolutely nothing on that list (other than buy a car, but that was in December), and it was an incredible summer that I would trade for anything in the world (except maybe dinner right now because I am huuungry).

Traveling on my own
While my initial attraction to this was that it seemed contemplative and new and daring, I realized pretty quickly that that's only good if that's what you want. And what I wanted was to have fun with people I love and soak up every minute of my friends and family that I possibly could before I start "the real world". Solution: drive an insane amount of miles between Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas with the company of Trey for every car trip and Mom and Dad for the trip from Texas to Memphis and back.

Prin to Cedars: 197 miles
Cedars to Gtown: 292 miles
Gtown to Grand Prairie: 493 miles
Grand Prairie to Longview: 147 miles
Longview to Grand Prairie: 150 miles (Google Maps explain this one...)
Grand Prairie to Gtown: 492 miles
Gtown to Grand Prairie: 493 miles
Total Distance: 2,264 miles

Yeah. I think I got traveling covered just fine, and I'm glad I didn't do it alone.

Taking pictures of exotic locations
So much better than that! Instead of going somewhere by myself to take pictures of something that didn't mean much to me, I went back to camp! My job was pretty much to walk around to all the different activities and programs and take pictures of kids laughing and having fun. I wasn't expecting to want a cabin again, but even though I missed playing with the kiddos, it was probably one of the best jobs I've ever had: who else can say they got to meet tons of people, take pictures of happy kids, get certified to drive a Genie, play with sparklers, and lots lots more.

Finding an apartment
If you're looking for a great deal on rent, let me tell you that the Moser Mansion comes fully equipped with live entertainment, cuddly pugs, carpool buddies, and workout motivation (or compulsion, haha, just kidding Court). Purchasing insurance coverage for traumatic stress following Ham Storms is still pending approval from owners but will hopefully be in place soon.

Buying a car
Check! I love my Atomic Blue Honda Civic. She has air conditioning and a sun roof. What more could a girl want?

Moving to Dallas
I'm here now, sitting in my blue room, mostly unpacked, and I couldn't resist the temptation to start a bet a little early.

Starting my job
1 week, 13 hours, and 28 minutes.

Thanks to never knowing how plans can change! Otherwise, I would have missed out on being at camp for one last hurrah, catching Hot Throwed Rolls at Lambert's, being a bridesmaid in Tommy and Samantha's wedding (ahh! sooo wonderful-- this was my favorite weekend of the summer), going to a rodeo in Fort Worth, making the best caramel fudge in the world of chocolate with Trey, playing Dutton/Bogott golf in the middle of a burning hot day, hanging with the Huwers, eating lots of barbeque, learning to make homemade bread and eating it hot out of the oven with honey butter, going to a Redbirds game with Amy, Ruth, Phillip, Mom, Dad, and Trey, baking an angel food cake with Debbie's frosting recipe, and finding out that I am NOT allergic to pugs.

"Being an Adult" training began this afternoon when I tried to get car insurance. Phil called to see if I could be added on to their plan, and as I was giving the woman my information, she seemed surprised that I didn't know my driver's license number, and then she asked me for my VIN. What the heck is a VIN?! Obviously, it's a secret acronym that only experienced adults know. Or it's the Vehicle Identification Number that's on your insurance card. Oh, and I will not be getting insurance with Court and Phil because their rate more than doubled because we would have had to have all 3 of us insured on all 3 cars! When she told me the previous
rate and the new rate, I said, "Excuse me, could you repeat that last number? I don't think I heard you." Oh, but I had heard her.

I'll post pictures soon. I'm going to try to do some kind of slide show or something.

What a small world!

2008-07-01T20:07:00.000-07:00

As I can't really manage to stand still while I brush my teeth, I was wandering around my room on the third floor of Settler's House (at Cedars Camps), and even though there is a bathroom right next to the room, there is also a random sink at one end of the room and a toilet in a tiny room next to it. Anyway, since I finally have roommates, one of them had put a few things on the sink, and as I'm walking and brushing, I look down only to see a Germantown Charity Horse Show cup. She's here helping with the horses, so I figured maybe she'd been there once or so, but tonight I asked her, and she said she's been there every year since she was thirteen, and she's fallen in love with Germantown and vows to live there before she dies (well, Collierville now), but how random! She even loves the Commissary!

Hey, why not?

2008-06-04T19:09:00.000-07:00

So, I called Jack Jenkins today and found out that he has a litter of puppies (currently one week old), and he would absolutely love to sell me one in about 6 weeks, which is, uh, pretty much perfect timing for coming home from Tommy and Samantha's wedding. I've been going back and forth between really wanting a precious little pug puppy and wanting to make sure I'll be home enough to give it the attention it needs. Courtney and Phil are being great and offering to help out and are so excited for me, which is awesome, and... I just ate a Dove chocolate. Why is that relevant? Well, the message inside was "Hey, why not?".

Memphis and Other Adventures in May

2008-05-28T22:20:00.000-07:00

Drive
10 People
Fried Pickles
Shooting at the Gun Range
Barbeque Festival
5:00 AM Wakeup
Triathlon
Golf/Nap and Shop Time
Dinner!
Wrapping 50+ cookie cutters
Drive
3 hour nap

That's the sushi roll of Memphis in May weekend! After the Intermediate Photography field trip to the Sheldon Art Gallery, Trey and I met the Dutton's at Ted Drewes for some famous St. Louis ice cream, and it was sooo good! Apparently when Trey was a kid, he threw his shoe out the window there so he could go back and get more, and it worked. Smart kid! I'd go for another brownie concrete even if it meant losing my favorite pair of shoes (ok, maybe that's a little extreme).

We hit the road early on Saturday after really yummy sticky buns and got to Memphis in time for lunch with the fam at Cafe Etc. Then Mom and Dad took Ben, Phil, and Trey to the gun range, while Courtney and I went to swim the tri course, and Steph took the kids home for a nap. On the way out to the course, Courtney and I were blasting, "Shorty got low, low, low, low, low, low, low" in my car when she stopped and goes, "Hey, did you know that our parents just traded all three of their daughters in for 3 sons?" We were slightly hurt... Anyway, when we got back (after winning $1 off Ben for swimming across the pool), we headed to BBQ Festival to eat more!! The ribs were pretty much the most amazing thing I have ever eaten-- the meat just fell off the bone! Trey and I went to the Missouri Mule tent to find his friends from Barney's, but they weren't there, so we met up with my family again and took pictures down by the river before we headed home.

The next morning was the 5AMer...Whoof! Phil, Courtney, Trey, and I got up first to get set up for the triathlon, and then Mom, Dad, and Amy (I was sooo excited to see her!) came a little later to watch! After doing all the set-up stuff, I was the first in our gang to head out, and I finished my mile in 24:56-- not exactly Lib Arts time, but I beat Courtney by a whole 17 seconds!! Ohhh yeah! Nevermind the fact that she had two more legs ahead of her... Then Phil was off to biking, and Trey was waiting for his first ever 10K. While we were waiting for Phil to get in, Amy, Trey, and I were discussing the quickest way to tag off for the next part, which involved throwing Phil's bike over the railing where Trey would catch it and rack it, and then Trey would start the run down, and by the time he made it back past the Relay area, Phil would be there to do a running chip strap! While we were so busy discussing this, I looked up and almost said, "Hey, look! Someone else has a Deloitte shirt just like Phil!" but then I realized it actually was Phil, so there was a big rush to get him in and Trey out, lots of cheering, and then it was time for the last leg! Trey took it out fast (mind you, with no real training other than Frisbee in the afternoons when it wasn't gross and rainy, which were few and far between). Apparently, the first mile felt great! He thought it was about 7 minutes, but then the 5 miles ahead started to slow him down. I think I would have lost the will to live at the "Hey, now turn around and do it all again!" marker, but Trey kept going and ran faster to the finish than Amy or I could keep up with him after not having run a 10k, and one of our fellow triathletes gave him a gold medal for finishing the run! He finished in less than an hour, so that was awesome! Go Team Strength and Honor! Team Awesome, made up of Courtney, Emmeline, and Courtney Lynn, was really strong, but at the tag off between Emmeline and Courtney Lynn, the evil alter ego won over, and she didn't even do the run. Next year, I would suggest not asking Courtney Lynn to be on the team. You'll do better without her.

Even though Trey could barely walk, the guys went and played 9 holes of golf after lunch, while the girls crashed at home for a while and then went shopping. Sunday night was pretty chill, and Trey and I started wrapping 100 cookie cutters for Tommy and Samantha-- it was his idea to wrap them individually...Haha, but it all turned out great in the end! I was totally exhausted by the time we got back on Monday, so I slept from 3:50 PM to 6:50 PM and then went to bed again at 11 something and slept til 8 the next morning. Oh, how I love sleep!

Wednesday night we finally got to play Pixar Monopoly, and it was soo much fun! There were 7 of us, and we played from a little after 10 until 2 in the morning! I got to be Lightning McQueen, and Trey got the Great Barrier Reef, and I think everybody had a really good time! We had punch from Tommy and Samantha's shower and music, and Matt ended up winning even though he barely had any properties to start out.

This weekend was "Night at the Museum" on the Chapel Green on Friday, Saturday I cleaned like crazy, baked Choc Chip Banana Bread, and we played Pixar Monopoly again at the pub. Inspired by Pixar (and who wouldn't be?), Trey and I watched Cars after that! Sunday was absolutely insane but so much fun again! Here we go: get up, go to church, lunch with Dan and Adrian (learn that Dan got 2 tatoos...kind of--they are dots), Senior Women's Tea, leave early to get to Samantha and Tommy's shower-- I think they liked the cookie cutters, and they unwrapped them all,-- dinner at Barney's with the Duttons, ice cream at Fritz's with the Duttons, hail storm, looking at baby pictures of Trey (who I was expecting to be much bigger from all his talk, but he was just a really cute little kid), then back to Prin to start the week again!

My capstone is finally COMPLETELY DONE and TURNED IN!! However, if my career as an actuary fails, I do have backups:

1) Flower Arranger
2) Ribbon Bouquet Arranger
3) Banana Bread Baker
4) Photographer? (is that in there somewhere?)

Here are some pictures I took in the studio-- I think they're kind of fun!

New Discoveries surface to avoid being old and boring!!

2008-05-15T12:06:00.000-07:00

1. I want to learn how to bake bread. Not bread machine bread, but the real deal! Does anyone have any good recipes?
2. Get a baby pug! I don't know why, but this has become a new obsession of mine. My idea is that, since I will be working for WATSON Wyatt, I should name it Sherlock. But I kind of want a girl pug. I don't know, but they are just so cute and precious!
3. A more immediate goal: play Pixar Monopoly!! Trey and I went on our 2 year anniversary dinner date on May 13th, and he got me the game (and a beautiful necklace), and I am very excited to play it-- pieces are Mr. Incredible, Nemo, Sulley, Remy, Buzz Lightyear, and Lightning McQueen. It's been a busy week, though, so that will be next week...
4. Participate in a relay triathlon where my leg of the race is in 69 degree water. Ha! Silly me-- I get to do that on Sunday! Go Team Britt-Phil-Trey!

Ok, time for capstone now.

I love Life

2008-05-08T18:38:00.000-07:00

The crunchy outside, the sugary crystals on the inside-- I just don't know what could be better when dinner is Prin meatloaf. No offense, Mom, I like yours despite years of saying that I didn't.

The last quarter of my life is now officially over halfway done, but I'll have to wait to see about this whole graduating thing. So far, my capstone is giving me a lot more trouble than I was thinking it would, but we don't have to talk about that. I'm a little bitter right now.

However, the big news in my life for the week: playing in a golf tournament! Yes, you read it right, a GOLF tournament. Watch out Tiger, Bogott's clawing her way to the top. The Principia Parents' Association hosted a golf scramble last weekend, and the Duttons were down a member, so they got 2 for the price of 1! Trey and I joined the team, and even though it was freezing cold, super windy, and both of our first times out a course, golfing may just become my weekend getaway from actuarial valuations! Don't worry, Courtney, I'll still go rollerblading with you too...and bike riding...and swimming...and marathon training.

But to think that all of this weekend excitement occurred because of a trip to the DMV, now that is the crazy part. Trey's license expired, so we went down to the DOR, but they said he needed his birth certificate, so we went to his house to that, then back to another DMV for a 2 minute test, then to a SHOE STORE (yes, I did actually, successfully get Richard Allen Dutton III, man who has strong moral opposition to the art of wearing shoes, into a shoe store where he actually found my very cute pair of red shoes for graduation and semi-approved my purchase of a mostly comfortable pair of silver shoes for my bridesmaid dress), then to Party City for shower decorations, and then he helped me fix my sunroof! After that, we went to Casa Gallardo (oh so amazingly tasty Mexican restaurant) for dinner, back to Prin for Recycled Percussion (Dad, you would have LOVED it), pub time with Tommy and Samantha, back to the Dutton's, and finally we're back at the golf tournament. So, if anyone's not looking forward to a trip to the DMV, I say that you just never know what could happen.

Sorry for the severe lack of updates lately folks, but this Personal Journaling class has been draining on my creative juices. After writing about collections and soundtracks and moments and ordinary things and all that jazz, it's my blog that suffers. It's a shame, and I'm not proud to admit it, but it's true.

And how could I forget...

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!
You're not old or boring, and you don't even have a blog!
I love you!

It's Finally Warm and Beautiful!

2008-04-16T21:47:00.000-07:00

Today was so wonderful with 70ish degree weather! So, as a tribute to spring, here are the things I love about it:
1) Popsicles
2) Frisbee
3) Skirts
4) Sun
5) Tomato Sprouts (mine made the Principia Pilot this week!)
6) Going outside without a jacket
7) Eating outside
8) Dirty feet (ok, a little weird, I know...but it shows that you've been playing hard!)
9) Barbeques
10) Flowers

On news of my life, things are getting more solidified for summer and after plans. I'm heading back to camp for the first two sessions as a photographer! I am so excited! I'll get to go to lots of activities and follow campers around, being creative with my camera, and nothing could be better than that! I was hoping to do some traveling this summer, but that just didn't work out, so this will be a great way to spend part of the summer after graduation. And now I get to spend more time with Trey since he'll be at camp too! Once 2nd session is done, it will be time for Samantha and Tommy's wedding in Longview, so we'll head down there for all those wedding festivities! Then, it's back to Memphis to go through an attic full of stuff for an apartment... someday. Courtney and Phil actually want me back as their indentured servant, I mean fun an crazy sister/sister-in-law, so it's back to Grand Prairie for me! It's going to work out really well, and Courtney even wants me to get a pug puppy. Hmmm, we'll see... It would be fun :) Courtney, I sure hope Phil knows you said this to me! And then who knows? I'll be in the business of risk! Livin' life on the edge, right? I think that's what an actuary does, at least...

8 feet of pink butcher paper and 7 Mr. Sketch Smelly Markers

2008-04-08T21:33:00.000-07:00

What do ya get when you add these together? A list of MUST-DO's before the end of senior year! In the open space above our gigantic bed, Marcia, Laura, and I hung our masterpiece. A disclaimer says that anyone who adds to the list has to intend to do it before the end of the quarter. It's our very own bucket list (except no one's kicking the bucket)!! We also discovered that jumping on our big bed is really fun but kind of scary since the ceiling is so close!

And on a totally different note, I am currently taking a personal journaling class. One assignment we had was writing about spring break without using any adjectives or adverbs. I learned two things from this assignment-- 1) It's surprising how many college students do not know what an adjective or adverb is and 2) Writing without them is NOT fun! So, before you climb into your warm, heavenly divine, inviting bed tonight, thank your adjectives and adverbs. They add spice to life.

Red Hot Chili Peppers in the Big Truck

2008-03-31T20:21:00.000-07:00

For all you avid viewers of B-ritt's blog who've been disappointed by the lack of updates in the last few weeks, I'd like to begin by offering my apologies, but even a beginning blogger sometimes needs a break from the rigorous demands of her fans, so off to sunny Florida I went! Trey's family has a timeshare down in Pompano Beach (note the incredible view...), so after finals were done, Trey, Luisa, and I packed the Big Truck (a real trooper, as you'll learn later on) rather haphazardly, spent the night in Memphis, and headed to warmer weather early Sunday morning.

After dropping Luisa off at home in West Palm Beach and almost having a gas crisis in the middle of a city, Trey and I made it to the condo at about 1 AM after Trey had driven some 16 hours-- but 16 hours goes faster with Catch Phrase and jelly beans. The next morning, even though it was really windy, the Duttons and I made it out to the beach, and I got to experience the making of a sand castle with a couple of intense shovels and sand castle makers. We found a some cool copopods (I have no idea if that's the right way to spell it) and made them a little room on the top of the castle, shaded from the sun and any hungry birds and then sat in hand-dug pits while we read and watched the tide take away the castle we had just built.

Tuesday it was so windy that the beach would have permanently imbedded sand in us, so we went to Parrot Jungle Island in Miami instead! It was so cool-- it's like a zoo mainly devoted to parrots, lions, tigers, and some reptiles. We got into a little trouble right at first when we tried to take our own pictures with the parrots, but what's the fun in an adventure if you don't try to bend the rules a little, right? And did you know that a Liger is an actual animal, weighing in at a whopping 900 lbs?! There's also some animal there that smells like hot buttered popcorn but it's name sounded like plkch shatabrt, so just know if you're in the jungle and smell popcorn, it's probably not Orville Redenbacher there to join you for a leisurely stroll...

We spent the last part of our time there feeding a whole line of parrots, one of whom (Sky) was really eager to get off his perch and sit on Trey and his dad. They would just hold out their arms to feed him, and he'd climb right on. Another bird waved one wing around like he had a secret to tell you, and my favorite seemed to have some kind of problem that made him look like he couldn't stop dancing.

A few more days lounging around the pool and reading books got us all ready for another adventure on Friday. Our original plan was to have me take a resort course in SCUBA diving and then go on 2 dives with Trey, Ashely, and Rick, but apparently the conditions would have been like combat diving, and even though the veterans were up for it, no one thought it'd be a good idea for my first dive. I ended up doing the course on Friday, and it was so fun!! The Duttons all went kayaking while I did the class, and by the time they got back for a photo shoot, I was hooked--even in murky water. At one point, the instructor (Connor, who has a pirate house), came back to us from grabbing some weights from a couple yards away and said, "There's a 6 foot bull shark hanging out right over their by the dock!" I was pretty much a 50/50 mixture of curiosity and terror until I looked up and saw Trey laughing. Don't worry mom-- no sharks...yet.
Then it was down to Key West to walk around, see the southernmost point in the US (only 90 miles from Cuba, but unfortunately the marker isn't quite the southernmost point but it was pretty dang close), refueling with yummy seafood lunch and ice cream right next to the beautiful ocean and lots of sailboats, and then it was time to head back.

Rick and Debbie left on Saturday afternoon because they had to get back to work, so on Easter Sunday the three "orphans" sadly had to become stowaways on a dive boat where they had to put their underwater skills to the test in order to survive! With only a wetsuit, regulator, fins, mask, and enough air to last at least 45 minutes, it was tough work to accomplish! On an entirely serious note, SCUBA diving is pretty much the coolest, most incredible thing I've ever done. It was awesome to be at the surface of the water, look down and see the water, coral, and sand below absolutely teeming with so much life. Fish are swimming everywhere, and the whole time I was down there, I felt like I was in a dream. The dive instructor kept motioning for us to take pictures in different places, and he would always tell Trey and I to hold hands for the pictures (he warned Trey before hand that if he started spinning me around that he wasn't getting fresh but probably just fixing something on my gear). We got to see so many fish-- a HUGE trumpet fish (between 2 and 3 feet long), a scrawled cowfish, trunkfish, lobsters (which were pointed at with a "mmm yummy" signal), grouper, parrotfish (maybe my favorite), butterfly fish, barracuda, and so many others I couldn't possibly name them all! And we were in the water with a shark!!! I think Ashley was the only one of us to see it, but Trey and I both saw the instructor giving the shark sign and pointing. A word or two about tan lines: wearing Keens and being outside as much as a SCUBA instructor makes your feet look like tigers-- my instructor, David, was evidence of this! After two long dives (45 minutes on the bottom that went by really fast), we got to warm up on the boat on the way back in, and then went back to Pompano to meet our friends at the condo. Before starting the next part of the blog, I would like to say to anyone who is reading this and hasn't gone SCUBA diving-- do it! It's so amazing to actually see an ecosystem working like that, and it's unlike anything I could ever imagine seeing on land.

And I can't take credit for all these pictures-- Trey and Ashley took them all!

When we got back to the condo, Laura, Peter, and Karen had been waiting for a little while for us to get back, running in the rain on the beach and getting completely soaked but apparently having a good time! Samantha came in a little while later, and since it was Easter, what else was there but an Easter egg hunt!! Trey and I hid them all over the apartment, filled with candy and other random items like cookie dough, cheese, and pretzels. After giving hints like "I hear wheat thins you out" for the one in the Wheat Thins box, all the eggs were discovered, and Easter was complete! On Monday, Laura, Samantha, Karen, and Peter went to Naples to see Laura's family, and Trey and I met them for dinner after we dropped Ashely off at the airport. And let me tell you, good company, alligators, and oldies music makes a 3 hour drive go by really fast!

The next few days were a great way to end Spring Break-- we lounged on the beach, took walks, read, and made dinner on the grill (mostly)! The first night of cooking out was great! We had super burgers, and Trey and Peter constructed a hut to block the wind from the grill, and the burgers tasted great, along with out mac and cheese. The second night, Karen and I ran out to grab some more things for cooking, but ended up taking too long, so the charcoal had died, so we had somewhat grilled, somewhat baked chicken for dinner that night. Lesson learned-- grilled chicken is deee-licious, so don't run out of heat too soon!

On the last day, Trey and I went up to have lunch at Luisa's mom's restaurant in West Palm Beach. It's called Mono's, and it's a Colombian restaurant. Trey told Luisa just to pick out her favorites, and we both had absolutely amazing lunches--empanadas, chicken with cream sauce, steak, rice, fried plantains (2 ways), beans, and arepas (like thick corn tortillas) with fresh cheese. By the end, we were absolutely stuffed!! Luisa and her mom showed us around the back where they make the arepas, and then we took a picture and headed back to Pompano for a few more hours at the beach!

Friday morning was another early, but we all hit the road headed for Memphis. We had a competition between the cars to see who could get the most number of license plates/states on the way home, and even though Karen, Laura, and Samantha beat our car with states, we had a whopping 72 with all those crazy Florida plates!! And we even saw an Alaska...amazing. We also played catch phrase for about 4 hours and contemplated life as the "billboard lady." Tuuupelo was a great source of entertainment for our valiant driver, Trey Dutton, sole driver of the big truck.

Memphis was also an adventure! After Karen, Samantha, and Luisa headed off to school on Saturday, Laura, Peter, Trey, and I went to Range USA with my parents to participate in the southern sport of shooting. Mom and Dad gave us some safety lessons, and then it was all about the targets...which are now hanging up at Prin! Needless to say, we had a really good time, and my parents were pleasantly surprised! Dinner was so good y'ull slap yo mama at the Commissary, where Austin branded our foreheads with Cars stickers and my new baby niece Chloe (who has my birthday!!) couldn't keep her eyes off Trey! Back at home we played with Austin, hiding Hopper on the fan, in vases, and finally ending with a brilliant game of "Bob the Weasel"--Hopper style. Austin was running around the room sneaking candy as Hopper whizzed past his head multiple times until he finally saw him due to a catching mishap on the adults' parts...come on guys, get it together and win with some dignity!

Even though our trip back to school to start the last quarter at Prin was mostly uneventful--except the stimulating Physics and Chemistry conversations flying between Peter and Laura in the back seat, we didn't make it home without one last big blowout of an adventure! 43.8 miles away from Trey's house, we heard a huge pop, and Trey pulled off to the side of the road (I think all our hearts were beating pretty fast at this point), only to find that Laura had eaten a few too many jellybeans! The tire was just flat, it was exploded! Luckily, the Duttons came to our rescue because it was pouring rain outside, and the spare was under all our our luggage. When I called my dad to tell him we weren't going to get to school right on time, he said, "The back left tire, right? Yeah, I heard it squeaking this morning in the garage, and I knew it was going to happen. I should have said something, but I didn't." Thanks, Dad... just kidding, but he did know. So, for all you car owners out there, a squeaky tire is what "Car Talk" would say has delaminated, a fancy car term for, "you're basically going to explode your tire in the next few hundred miles, so go slow or change your tires." So, after some more car Catch Phrase and an ice cream break at the Dutton's, we finally got back to Prin!

And now life consists of Natural Resources Conservation, Intermediate Photography, and Personal Journaling. Life is hard when you're a senior... Thanks to everybody for an amazing last Spring Break!

And the winner is...

2008-03-09T14:42:00.000-07:00

Noah and Allie from The Notebook! Howard Formal this year was themed "A Night at the Oscars," so naturally since Trey looks so much like Noah (as confirmed by multiple waitresses at Clifton Terrace), that's who we picked! And for winning the "Best Dressed Couple," we got gold statues and chocolate skittles. Yes, you read that right, chocolate skittles. Hmmm...not so sure where the marketing department was on that because the sugary goodness of skittles doesn't quite meld with a classic flavor like chocolate. But, most importantly, we won!

Also included at the party were Mr. and Mrs. Smith, James Bond, Sean Connery, Beyonce, Tom Cruise, Carey Grant, Katie Holmes, and many more! The sparkling cider was flowing, the dessert was delectable (chocolate mousse and cheesecake, of course), and the stars were radiant! Too bad the paparazzi didn't cover this one! More pictures to come, but the uploader isn't pleased with me right now...

Less than a week until Spring Break, which means there's a lot to do and not much time to do it! My capstone on optics is coming along, but I've got a lot to do still. I'm going to have to buckle down, start staying up later, stop getting distracted (perhaps by blogs...), and just write! However, here are the top 10 ways to procrastinate:
10. Making silly putty faces on my desk
9. Cleaning! Who would have ever thought it was such a good stress reliever?
8. Shopping. There's nothing a shopping trip can't fix, right?
7. Watching How I Met Your Mother. It's legendary!
6. Working out. Yes, I went running! Amazing, huh? Only once so far, though...
5. Contrary to number 6, eating. Bad habit.
4. Packing. I know it's similar to cleaning, but I'm ready to go!
3. Showering. It's a great way to procrastinate because it has to be done!
2. Moisturizing. Lately, it's been consuming much of my time!
1. Obviously, the blog... it's a killer.

March Madness

2008-03-04T22:52:00.000-08:00

Weather predictions were true, and for the first time that I can remember at Prin, the school closed for snow. I'm sure we've got a good six inches on the ground, and they were saying possibly up to ten! Unfortunately I had to go work and wasn't able to go play out in the beautiful Almost-Spring Wonderland, but it's gonna be around for a while.

Lessons learned today:
1) Baking brownies is much more fun if you do it with someone else and then share them (warm of course) with your friends while watching the end of Hitch and eating them straight from the pan with spoons. Dry ingredients should go in first, but really eggs don't matter if you do one and then the other or vice versa.
2) Mouse traps are scary when they go off- even if you know it's coming! Screaming like a girl is necessary for the event, especially because it's an important life skill to know before getting your own apartment.
3) Rolling film is much more fun with music.
4) Credit cards may get you into financial trouble (no worries-- I'm not there), but they do earn you points!

And now for a random tribute to Spanish:
Tomo una clase de espanol este trimestre. Es divertida. Aprendo palabras muchas nuevas, pero no hablo muy bueno. Vemos una pelicula sobre una profesora de antropologia y un hombre de empresas. Es muy comica. Me gusta fotografia mas que espanol, pero voy a vivir en Dallas y espanol va ser muy util.

A serious matter...

2008-03-02T12:48:00.000-08:00

All photo credits for the mid-air flop should go to Trey Dutton. He's the master photographer of that one! Seriously, it's a sweet shot.

Welcome to the Midwest!

2008-03-02T11:21:00.000-08:00

For my last year in the state of Illinois, it only seems appropriate that the weather is manic. Today it's 75 and absolutely gorgeous! In fact, the balcony window is open, and I am sitting on my bed in shorts and a tank top. However, the forecast for Tuesday includes SNOW! What in the world? Flip flops back to my fuzzy, pink snowboots... Hopefully this spring will be a little more consistent, but at least the pattern has been warmer, more enjoyable weekends.

On other news, two of my best friends are getting married! Samantha and Tommy got engaged on February 10th, and they are tying the knot this July 11th. How exciting!! They are the cutest, sweetest couple, and it's so much fun getting to hear all their plans. It's exciting to know both of them so well, and I couldn't be happier for them. This will be my 4th time as a bridesmaid, but even though Courtney said, "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride," I can't wait to be a bridesmaid for them, and I would rather be always a bridesmaid than always a bride! We had a little party for them yesterday while Samantha's parents were in town for dance prod and had Samantha's favorite Popeye's chicken and yummy pies from My Just Desserts and sparkling cider!

My collegiate career of swimming ended last week. It's been weird not to be practicing, and it's too bad that I just can't keep say that I'm not too sad to say goodbye. Liberal Arts went really well, and the women ended in 3rd place! Last time tat happened was Courtney's senior year, and the women's 400 free relay took her off the board! Sorry Courtney...crushed by 3 seconds! I became a distance swimmer this year and took 12 seconds off my 500 and 37 off my mile, so I feel like it was a pretty successful year even if I never made the Top Ten list. At the end of the meet, we threw Carl, Jenny, and Eric in the pool, and then Steph and I did a senior belly flop for the team.

Two weeks until Spring Break!! The first week will be with the Duttons in Pompano Beach, FL, and then Peter, Laura, Karen, and Samantha are joining Trey and I down there to spend the second week having more fun in the sun. I am so excited and ready!

I'm not old and boring yet!

2008-01-24T08:57:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, Courtney gave me a book called 101 Things To Do Before You're Old and Boring. Number 36 is "Start Your Own Blog," so here it goes! My grandkids will wonder in amazement one day at what the heck a laptop is and how I could have possibly gotten anything done without computer chips in my clothes, but they won't be able to say I am old and boring because I have number 36 done! Hopefully pictures will be coming soon!