I have returned from Colorado and it was AMAZING. Some pictures will be posted soon. As well as stories.

And I leave for Key West in 5 days. What's up!!!

I love WEDDING CRASHERS. It is absolutely hilarious. Slightly crude. . .okay, not slightly--it's pretty crude. But man, I was cracking up the whole time. And I don't really "crack up" at movies very often. I might smile or chuckle, but this one had me cracking up. I must say, I hope you're at least in college if you see this movie. If you're younger than that, I don't think it's appropriate. But hey, that's me.

I don't understand men. I just don't. I probably never will.

Going tubing today! Colorado tomorrow! I have tons to do and I hope it all gets done. . .

Em's here! I love it when she visits. There are some things you can only do or say around your very best friend, you know? And Em is certainly that person for me. Check out this picture, for instance. There are few people I live to be goofy with and Emily is high on that list. When you've known each other since 1st grade, there's not a whole lot to hide. It's amazing how our friendship has never really changed, despite the fact that we haven't lived in the same town for 5 years now. Crazy.

I'm also glad she's here because it gets both of our minds off of other things in our lives. We're both a bit bummed out about some stuff, so nothing like good girl time as a distraction.

LOL, this picture cracks me up every time I look at it. I'm such a nerd.

I'm off to Colorado on Saturday for a youth group hiking trip! Fun stuff. It's always crazy before trips, though--so much to do.

Have a good one!



Another delay. Too many hassles,
Where do we go? How do we follow?
~Pinback

The feelings change so fast.
Safety scares them away.
I can't bring myself to say it--it's my own advice I need.
~Jimmy

Home Again

I have a new residence. And I love it!

It was emotional--for Leah and my parents, it was definitely something that snuck up on them. It was very much the same for me when I left home for college. All of a sudden, the days I thought I had stretched before me were gone and I had one night left in Arlington. I think it was similar for Leah. I think she's having fun, though. If not yet, she will be soon.

It's so nice to have a house. So much bigger. I still have some setting up to do, but that's the fun part. Four of my kids helped us move. . .they are so dang awesome and I am so thankful! It made the job a lot more enjoyable to have others around.

My internet isn't quite up yet at the house. . .one of my phone jacks isn't working. Sad.

Have a good one.





Maybe you'll know when you've seen it
Maybe if you say it you'll mean it
And when you find it you'll keep it
~Coldplay

Our group outside the church in Piedras Negras, Mexico.

Float On

Moving makes a mess of my life. Ugh. But I'm so dang excited at the same time!

Hung out with Martha and Abby today. Man, I love those chicas.

I'm having fun reconnecting with old friends thru the internet's many networking sites. Actually, I'm just using two: MySpace and Friendster. These, along with blogging, can be quite addicting. Use with caution. ;)

I'm not ready to go back to work tomorrow. Well actually, I'm *somewhat* excited about it. After a while, I miss everyone (and the amount of work that's piled up in my head is starting to annoy me here at home).

Peace out.




You don't know where and you don't know when
But you still got your words and you got your friends
Walk along to another day
Work a little harder, work another way
~mm

Nice

Mission trip weekend was just what I needed. . .funny how God surprises me like that. It was crazy how much REST I got on the trip--I took a 3 hour nap on Saturday afternoon! We relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. . .we worked, too, of course, but it's an interesting situation down there and so hot that we only work for a few hours in the morning and then take a siesta. No complaints here! :)

I just took my car in to get it fixed from the break-in. And it's gonna be over $500 (my insurance deductible is $500--plus, I rented a car for two days). And of course, now that I've already signed the papers, I realized that I should have waited until next week when my sister's down here so that I wouldn't have had to rent a car--I could've just used her car! Ugh. Don't you hate it when you come up with a perfect plan after the fact? Plus, moving this weekend is going to incur some extra costs, I'm sure, but at least Mom will be around. I will be extremely grateful to her this weekend, I'm sure!

Went to SA last night to have dinner with Court and Clinton. Interesting conversations about women in ministry. . .had me a bit frustrated, but Clinton's like a brother to me and I can't really be mad at him. At least he argues well and listens to my thoughts. It's going to be hard, though, going into ordained ministry, because there are definitely people out there who believe that it's not my place as a woman. Hmmm. And those of you who know me know that I'm definitely not a super liberal feminist, so I'm not used to arguing with people about women's rights. All I know is that it's not about me being a woman, it's about me feeling peace with where God is leading me. And I certainly have tried to dodge seminary my whole life. But I can't shake it anymore. I feel it is where I must be. And I'm sad that I might never be recognized as a 'real' pastor by some denominations. . .that's depressing. . .but that's not what it's about anyway.

Dad and Leah just called from the beaches of Puerto Rico. . .gag me. :) I'm jealous, but oh, well. I think I'll climb back into my bed soon for a nap.



On a platform I'm gonna stand and say
That I'm nothing on my own
~Coldplay

All the Small Things

Tomorrow I head to Eagle Pass for a mission trip weekend with my youth. Should be fun. Although I'm totally not packed and I haven't prepared devotions yet. Ugh. This week has been ridiculously stressful--on many levels. Seems like I'm saying that a lot lately and I don't like it. And it doesn't look like it's going to be getting better any time soon b/c I move next weekend. :(

But despite the stress and effects of it, I'm happy and having fun. Just a bit tired and worn out. It's lightning outside and I hope it doesn't turn into a scary storm.

I just had dinner with some of my family that I never get to see--they live near SA and yet we never get together. The kids in that family are so fun. . .they're young and it's fun to be around younger kids--my family is all grown up now! So we made an agreement (once again) to be better about keeping in touch with each other. They're precious.

Goodnight. Have a terrific weekend!

Oh, and the hole in my ceiling is fixed. :)

It's Raining Raccoons!

Oh my goodness, A RACCOON FELL INTO MY APARTMENT THRU THE CEILING last night. I am not kidding. It was in one of my closets and I moved furniture in front of the door to keep it from getting out. My manager better take care of that because I was FREAKING OUT at 5 am this morning. And I know my little "visitors" are raccoons b/c I saw a huge one out on my balcony this morning after the crash of one falling into my closet. This is utterly ridiculous and super scary. I'm scared to go back into my apartment!! Aaah! It's kinda humorous, too, though. I mean, how many times does this happen? What a story. But in the wee hours of the morning when you're jolted awake by a huge crash of falling ceiling debris and raccoons. . .yeah. . .it's FREAKIN' SCARY!!

So anyway.

I absolutely love fireworks shows. I've decided that they're one of my favorite things to watch. Last night at Zilker, it was so fun to sit among a crowd of people and "ooh" and "aah" at the displays of color in the sky. :)

Fireworks!

Happy 4th!

I just played tennis with Weiler and man, am I tired. There's really no point in being outside between the hours of 10 AM and 6 PM, I don't think. But it was fun, even though he beat me. Jerk. :) He and I and Kendall are going to Zilker for the fireworks show tonight. The Austin Symphony is playing! Fun stuff.

So I had this big plan to pack a lot these last two days and. . .it didn't happen. Are you surprised? I'm not. . .at least I'm taking next Monday & Tuesday off to work some more on packing up my place. Ugh, not fun. :(

I love taking showers on summer afternoons--they're so refreshing!

Stay cool out there, kids. Drink lots of agua. Catch ya later!



But you see through my forever lies
And you are not believing
And I see in your forever eyes
That you you are forever healing
~JoC

Arlington Road

GREAT weekend at home. I'm lovin' it. (okay, McDonald's. . .)

Oh, yeah, it's all been great except for the fact that my car was broken into. Yeah. One of the back windows was shattered, but nothing was stolen. I was so worried that all of my CDs would be gone (and I mean ALL. . .I kept them all in there. . .I know, stupid move), but they were all still there. My glove compartment was rifled through and all the papers in my car were spread everywhere, but other than that, everything's intact. Thank You, God!

Maggie, my dad's sweet dog, died yesterday. It was a really sad and tragic death and I don't want to write about it. The cycle of life has been quite apparent in my family lately, what with two animals dying within a few months of each other and now new kittens running through the house. It's crazy how many animals we've had in my lifetime alone. Kinda fun. But still sad when they die because they're all so special.

One of my favorite things: waking up and realizing that the horrendous headache I had when I went to bed is gone.

Headed back to Austin later tonight, then spending the next free days packing up what I won't need for the next 2 weeks before I MOVE. I'm sooooo excited about moving!!!!!! Although it's hitting me that I won't have my own little apartment to myself anymore. . .it's strange how I've gotten used to being alone and (*gasp*) am actually enjoying it!!

That's all, folks. Stay cool.




And I wonder when I sing along with you,
If everything could ever feel this real forever.
~foo fighters