Where'd Ya Get that Shiner?

I found out that on Sunday night around 10:00 totally chaos struck my family's house. At this time the lights in the house flickered on and off until finally the whole house went dark. Then there were sparks in the backyard right next to the windows. Apparently one of the electrical lines ran through a tree and over time, the wire had rubbed against the bark until it severed. Needless to say my sisters were going frantic in the dark.

Along with the darkness my mom managed to injure herself. She was back in my old room, which she is converting into an office (shot through the heart). When the lights went out, she saw the sparks from the window and thought it was a fire. In her moment of fright she forgot that she had placed some large pieces of furniture in the hall. As she ran out of the room she tripped on my bench, causing her to hit her eye right on the corner of the wooden beast.

I went to my parent's house yesterday to check out the damage to my mom. She entered the house wearing her sunglasses. When she removed the glasses there it was...quite a nice shiner. Not only was it black all around, but there was also a small gash near the corner of her eye. I felt so sorry for her.

On another note, I saw an opossum in the road (alive) while I was driving last night. I get cheap thrills out of the most insignificant things.

The Aftermath of Christmas

Now that Christmas is over, life has slowed down quite a bit. This Christmas was more frantic than others. With two jobs I didn't have much time for shopping--I actually got it all done in about a day (two days before Christmas). I did pretty well...there are only two items I got that were completely off the mark.

Since the busy Christmas time has passed I am being scheduled for less hours at Kirkland's which is kind of nice. The past two weeks I was working close to 40 hours per week not to mention the time at my job at ACU. The past few nights have been really slow. Last night it was just me and Tim, one of the assistant managers, working from 7-9:30. To pass the time we played speed, performed a few magic tricks, and had quite a few rubber band fights. It was really fun not doing work stuff.

I was off on Tuesday so, after a small nap, I attacked the Relm. I put on my Evita soundtrack loud enough so I could hear it in every room of the house and I cleaned that sucker from top to bottom. After 2 1/2 hours of cleaning the house looked great! And as a reward for my efforts I plopped on the couch and watched about an hour of the appendixes from Return of the King and then an episode of X Files. It was a good night.

I am off on Friday and Saturday so I've already made plans to hang out with the Abilene girls on New Year's Eve. We sort of made a pact in high school to always hang out on New Year's Eve no matter what. So the two girls who are married are leaving the husbands for the night and enjoying a wonderful girls' night. The plan is to dress stylishly and eat at Cypress Street and then return to Trish's house for one of our famous slumber parties--I can't wait.

Snow

I woke up today to a beautiful blanket of white snow on the ground. I was so excited! I love snow. What I didn't realize was that it was still coming down rather aggressively--even better. It was interesting uncovering my car this morning to go to work. I still haven't bought an ice scrapper so I was using my glove. And as I opened the front door the piled up snow filtered its way right on to my seat--lovely. So I entered work with a slightly wet bum. I wish all of the gang was here so we could go play in the snow like we did freshman year--man, that was a good time. Instead I'm stuck in the office and then have to jet to the mall for the rest of the day--oh, well. For those of you in Abilene or anywhere else it is snowing...happy snow day!

The Wedding

Sheesh! It's been quite awhile since I've written on my blog. I sort of slacked off there. Well, the group of us got back last night around 9:30 from Mark and Katrina's wedding. It was a really great trip. Only a few small incidents occurred along the way. Some highlights from the trip:

*meeting at Tortuga at 5:45 in the morning--whew!
*Phil unable to take the right turn in Wichita Falls to reach the McDonalds
*Playing chicken with the on coming van as we tried to pass another car
*20 questions--which created a lot of tension between the two cars
*not finding out the answers to 20 questions until the wedding breakfast
*Atomic Burrito in Tulsa--The "atomic" smell in the building
*Lauren losing her purse at Atomic Burrito but remaining calm
*Driving straight through the toll booth and not getting caught
*Bachlorette party + Philter
*Amazing Chinese Restaurant--the building was like this Chinese palace
*Seeing horse drawn carriages in downtown Springfield
*Special bachlorette gifts for Katrina from Melody, Adriane, and Kristen (girls ask me in person and I will tell you what they were)
*Getting lost on the way to the cabins and driving through "the lights" of Branson (I felt like we were in Vegas)
*Waking up at 6:00 for the rehearsal in the freezing weather
*Worrying and calling Bret countless times, unsure of where he and Julie were
*Helping delagate the rehearsal
*Wedding Breakfast--good stuff
*Devotional lead by Phil with Atomic Burrito references
*Mark's cousin, Matthew jumping in the girl van to ride to Branson
*Getting a call from Mark asking about the flowers, which were in the van in Branson, needed for pictures
*DanX, Marcus, and Phil doing an amazing job playing/singing "May the Few"
*The weird bathroom in the reception hall--it had two toilets without barriers
*Chocolate Soy Milk at the reception--YES!!!
*Absolutely great music played at the reception
*Catching the bouquet
*Andrew's crazy car decorations
*Spending the night at Katrina's Grandmother's house
*Marcus getting a speeding ticket
*Arriving home safe and sound
*Catching up on all the sleep I lost

It was such a fun weekend and such a beautiful wedding. Congrats to Mark and Katrina Willis--I love you guys!

Commence Relaxation

Well, this morning at 8:00 I finished my very last final of my college career (no finals in student teaching). I feel burden free right now. I'm at work and don't know what to do with myself--I usually study or read for class. Ahhh...

Today after my final I went to Kirkland's to fill out all my paper work. I am offically an employee. I received my code to clock in and out which is really cool--I've never worked at a job with computer registers before. I go in tomorrow morning for 2 hours just to learn the ropes and get acquianted with what the job entails. So far I am scheduled for around 32 hours next week. I'm really excited!

Friday night I will be marshalling at graduation. Then afterwards I'm sure I will venture over to Tortuga to join in on the crazy 24 hour Smat Tourney/Vigil. Oy! I'm signed up to play at 11:00 Saturday morning with Robin, Lauren, and Rachael--I just hope we can last for a whole hour. What a waste of time.

One Down...Two To Go

I just finished my hardest final of the week. It was an all essay test in Renaissance and Reformation--bleck! I really have no idea how well I did--as soon as the test was over I blocked it all from my mind.

At 4:30 today I have an interview at Kirkland's in the mall. I am in need of a second job over Christmas break and possibly during the spring semester. Hannah just recently got a job at Kirkland's and informed me that they are still hiring. So I turned in a resume yesterday and the manager asked me to come back today--a very good sign. So we will see what happens.

Chritmat Time

Monday I got the urge to decorate the house with our few but special Christmas regalia. So Robin, Brooke, and I spent the time going through and "Christmasifying" the Relm. Some of the stuff in the boxes I've never seen before and have no idea where it came from...but we still used it. Some of my favorite decorations include:

* The beautiful 3-foot Christmas tree (good job, Brooke)
* The 12-inch Christmas tree on the table with the single 5-inch (in diameter) Christmas ball hanging from its branches
* The "Ghetto B" stocking (you'll have to see it to understand)
* The stockings hung on the mantle with duct tape
* Lauren's stocking hung on the flip flop on the wall...until she comes to claim it
* The piece of cardboard that we wrote "Merry Christmas Ya'll" on and hung on the empty nail in the kitchen
*The random "Bah Humbug" stuffed animal (a ladybug I think) tapped upside down on the front door with duct tape

(To the tune of New Kids on the Block's "The Right Stuff")

O-Or-e-o
O-Or-e-o
What's in the middle...
The White Stuff!

The Gobbles Have Ceased

The Holiday Season...It's this time of year when you realize how truly thankful you are that you don't live at home anymore!

Thanksgiving was good. It was a time of rest and relaxation. I had made these goals before I left based on all the homework I was going to complete during the break. I had envisioned myself locked in the guest room of my grandmother's house with my mom's laptop, typing my fingers to the bone. Well, needless to say that never happened. I stocked up on turkey, cookies, ice cream and tons of other food I should not have eaten.

The majority of the time was spent with the family watching movies (I rented the Terminal so my family could enjoy the sheer wonder of this delightful movie). On Friday my mom, sisters and I ventured to the Parks Mall in Arlington. Let me put out this disclaimer: I hate shopping. I'm not the typical girl who's favorite pasttime is to shop til I drop. I usually only go to the mall when I have a dire necessity for something. So going to the mall on the busiest shopping day of the year was not the best idea. But it was good to get out of the house and spend some time with the females of the family.

On Saturday my dad, sister (Jennifer), and I went to the Abilene High vs. South Lake Carrol game at Texas Stadium. Wow--it was such an amazing game! There were 34,000 people at this high school football game--talk about dedication. AHigh put up a great fight and came very close to winning but the final score was 35-30 South Lake. Those South Lake boys were huge...they sure eat their wheaties *cough* steroids.

So the majority of the holiday was great but I'd have to say that by Sunday everyone in the family was about ready to get back and get away from each other. There's just something about being in that close of a space for so many days that just makes everyone irritated.

Now it's time to crank into action and finish all the homework I put off this weekend. Oy!

New Love

I have a new love in my life...The Bagel Wagon in the Ad building. (I think it has a new name now but forever it will be known to me as TBW). Over the past four years I have know this place and received my lunch from there. I received it's gifts of nurishment with tolerance and kindness. But everything changed on Friday...

Friday I had to go to work right after chapel so I ran to grab something to eat. I was going to get my normal cold turkey sandwhich until my eyes rested on the large crockpot in the corner. I opended the warm pot to find chicken and rice simmering and steaming away. My heart started to beat out the rhythm of the song "Heaven, I'm in Heaven". It was such an amazing, warm, fulfilling meal!

Then today I went to get some lunch and when I checked the magic pot of goodness I found potatoe soup! Again my heart raced. I used the LADLE to dish out the yummy broth. I have been blind these past four years to this wonderful, precious gift. From now on I check the pot before any other food item pops into my mind.

Wake up with "Down"

This morning as I was leaving for my 8:00 class I got quite a surprise. As I walked out to my car I noticed a foreign object on the windshield. As I got closer I realized what it was--A DEAD DUCK! The neck of duck was held under the windsheild whipper of my car. I ran back into the house to tell Brooke and Ross's mom (who stayed with us last night). Brooke grabbed a trash bag and scooped up the animal.

When I got to chapel Ross asked me if my day had gotten off to a good "flight". I know that Mark, Phil, and Bret were apart of it--I'm not sure if there were any others. I took a picture of it with my camera phone to document the momentous occassion.

What's This...A Boy?!?!

I would call today a good day...

Background: At the beginning of the semester I was introduced to this guy named Jonathan who loves Disney and challenged me to play a tournament of Disney Trivia. I slaughtered him, winning 2 out of 3 games. I thought he was rather good-looking and he loved Disney--what more could you want! Over the semester we have seen each other and said a casual "hi".

So today we were on break in my Education Block class (the stinkin 3 hour class). Our class is in the Science building on the 4th floor. I came back into the room after a quick restroom break. I was throwing away my empty cup when Jonathan called my name from outside the door. I was really suprised to see him. He must have seen me enter the classroom because you couldn't see me from the angle I was standing at the trash can. He invited me to play disney trivia again with him sometime this weekend. I told him I couldn't Friday (FilmFest) but I was free Saturday. So he got my cell phone number and told me he would call.

I really didn't listen to the rest of the lecture in my class. So here you have it the gushy, girly side of EC. I know it's not a date but it still hit me as exciting. Sheesh, I'm such a girl! (Not that that's a bad thing) ;)

Strike of the Ninjets

I love my roommates. We have so many nights of random fun that begins with a simple idea or suggestion and automatically is put into play.

Before I describe what occured on Sunday night I must set it up with what happened Friday afternoon. Friday we had Relm lunch, a typical, normal event. Another typical, normal event is the boys stealing something from our house during this meal. Unfortunately we had no idea what they stole but we chased after their car any way to give them the facade that we knew what they had done. So we continued the weekend unsure of what they took.

It wasn't till the Sep-Tep date that Brooke realized what was stolen. Duct taped to the wall of Tortuga were forks and spoons--the precious silverware of the Relm. Oy, what those boys will think of.

So Sunday night we were sitting around and one of us casually mentioned that we should raid the house and steal the silverware back. The difference between us and other people is that other people would just suggested this as a fun discussion topic...we actually make it happen.

So we began the rapid transformation into...The Ninjets! We ran around find all the black items of clothing that we had. Granted we aren't use to dressing as ninjas so we had to scrounge around to find our headware. Robin ended up tying a long sleeved shirt around her face (I was amazed at how she got that to work). I had a black strapless sports bra that I placed around my nose and mouth and a pair of workout shorts that I placed on my head. Brooke used her sports bra and a pair of pants. Then came the final touch that distinguished us from the Ninjas and proved our awesome power as Ninjets...

The Black Eyeliner. We had some scary, thick black eyeliner going on. In the middle of our foreheads we drew on a symbol that was our trademark. Robin had a black circle, I had a long black line, and Brooke had a black star.

We were ready for battle. (First of all we were scared to death driving to the house--we thought someone would see us in the car and think we were going to rob a bank). We did a drive by of the house to "case the joint" as we were driving down the street Phil drove past to take Jenna to her dorm. We knew we had precious little time.

The plan was that I would go in the front with my water gun (actually the boys water gun that we stole earlier in the month) , steal something to get the boys to chase me out of the house while the other two Ninjets snuck in the back of the house to get the silverware. When I knocked on the door and came in the house no one was there. So I went to the back of the house to inform the other two. Unfortunately they didn't expect to see me and they screamed in terror. We began to rescue the precious silverware. In the midst of the rescue a door began to open and from the shadows of the room stepped the sleepy but sly enemy, Stev9. I shot him with all my power as I screamed for the others to run. Without the cover of his black garb Stev9's ninja reflexes and strength ensued and he soon overpowered my feeble ninjet strategies. He leaped out of the house toward my commrades. I gathered my strenght and set out after the screams that I heard in the billowing nightfall. I clasped on to his leg and pajama pant leg in an attempt to give the girls a chance to run. Out of the night air another form emerged--the dreaded Rot9. He was a foe that was not easily defeated. Stev9 retreated from my grasp and begain his persuit along the cement drive way in bare feet. I soon witnessed the stumble of the brave ninja as he sliced a chunck of skin from his big toe--yet he pressed on in red hot persuit.

Luckily the Ninjets made it to their mode of transportation and left the two defeat yet angry boys/ninjas to wallow in their misery.

The victory of the first Ninjet raid has kept us on our guard. We await the retaliation of the Tortuga Sect of the Ninja Faction with great confidence and fury. All Your Base Are Belong To US.

Adkins Exploding in the Freezer

What did you do this afternoon?

Well, my roommates and I bought $50 worth of meat.
Giga-what?!?!?

So I left observing early today to relax at home before I had to go to work. While at work an innocent, unbeknownst knock rapped at our door. It was this rather loud, but funny hispanic man. We figured he wanted to mow our yard--we get those a lot since we tend to have the jungle growing in the front. He actually was from "Gourmet Foods" and he was selling meat--how random.

Since I answered the door I of course said "Sure I'd like to look at it" (I just can't say no). So he ran to his truck and brought in a huge box and began pulling out the meat and describing it with such tenderness. The meat actually looked very good and it was vacuum sealed. So we ended up buying 24 steak hamburger patties and 10 medallions. So they are sitting in the freezer awaiting consumption.

Wow what a random day.

*By the way...if anyone is interested we have the card and phone number of the meat man.

Abnormal Sleeping Patterns

I experienced the CONSEQUENCES of my wonderful, relaxing trip to Corpus on Monday night. On Tuesday I had a power point project, a huge lesson plan project, and a group project all due in the same class--what the huey?!?! So Monday night I doped myself up on chocolate and coke (a-cola). I began working on it at 6:00 and ended at 4:45 in the morning. The hardest time slot was from 12-1--I wanted to go to bed so bad. But man, you should have seen me at about 3:00. I was wired and singing with much enthusiasm to Les Miserables--I really hope I didn't wake up my roommates.

So Tuesday I was running on 2 hours of sleep. Whew. I did pretty well because I knew I had to do my presentation to the class which was at 1:00. Unfortunatly I had class and work from 8-5 so there was no chance of getting a nap. It wasn't until I got to work that the lack of sleep hit me like a sumo wrestler. I was dying. After work I had to rush across town to vote. I really hope none of you were on the road at about 5:00 yesterday because it was a very scary ride for me. 2 hours of sleep+driving=roads moving around and fading in and out of conciousness. I was very glad when I got home safe and sound.

I got home a little before 6:00 and told Robin and Brooke I was going to take a nap. I set my alarm for 8:00. When it went off I decided to sleep 40 more minutes. The next time I woke up I thought it looked a little darker in my room. I looked at my clock and realized it was 3:00 in the morning--whoa baby! I got up, took out my contacts, took a quick restroom break, thought about what I should do, and then jumped right back into bed until 7:00. I got 13 hours of sleep last night!!!

Man, when you are sleep deprived you have some majorly wacked out dreams!

Hopefully I am back on my regularly scheduled sleep pattern.

We Survived Corpus '04

Well, all 30-something of us arrived back to Abilene safe and sound from a great weekend in Corpus Christi. I had a really great time. It was a great lat Fall Break. I won't be able to describe everything that happened on the trip (that would make this blog way too long), but here are a few highlights:

*Driving the soccer mom fan w/ Luke, Kendra, Alex, Tracy, and Lisa (you guys are awesome--I had so much fun with ya'll)

*Before the trip even started, running the van over one of those diamond shaped curb things in the campus center parking lot

*Finally getting on the road at 6:15 after the fear of a punctured fuel tank was over

*Pulling out in front of a semi

* Luke: "Don't hit that exit sign"
Me: "I'm not going to hit anything"
Everyone in the car: "AHHHHHHH!" (as we almost hit Phyllis's car)

* 20 questions with Phyllis's car to Corpus and Brooke and Ross on the way to Abilene

* Veto--enough said

* The attack and burial of EC in the sand

* Volleyball in the Ocean

* 10 girls showering in 30 minutes or less

* Major good eatin' at Tim and Venie Fulbright's house

* Alex's inability to paint the moon (K THANKS)

* Murder in the dark--turning on the lights to find Keith climbing the basketball hoop and Curtis climbing the wall

*The ha-ha game with frisbees flying near our heads (brooke getting hit twice) and Keith diving over us

* 3rd flooring it

* Brooke and I pretending to drown and Roommate deciding which one to save

* Bret getting stung by a jellyfish and Ross peeing on his hand to help the stinging (video coverage taken)

* Kingsville Pizza Parlor--sharing a pepperoni and black olive pizza with Alex

* Lots of volleyball!

* Indiana vs. The World ultimate frisbee tournament (the world won)

* Throwing the frisbee right into Keith's face

*Keith going to the hospital for a broken jaw

*finding out Keith's broken jaw was a complete joke (jerks)

* 30 something people dressing crazy and going to Whataburger

*Rachael and I getting a picture with the cop at Whatatburger

* Grumpy boys on Sunday morning--turning on the lights and running for dear life

* Small time church--note to self no clapping on "I will call upon the lord"

* Pot luck--huge table of desserts--Woah

*Someone egging the van and Rot's truck--grrr!

* Lots of cold showers

* Scary driving in the rain storm--sort of hit the loose gravel

It was a great trip. Thanks to Hannah and Robin for all their time and effort in planning this. Hallellujah that no one died.

Not So Good

All of a sudden this day got incedibly stressfull. I already knew that I have quit a bit of class work to get done the next few weeks but it overflowed today.

In my block class we were told that we had to have our instructional units, which consists of 5 lesson plans (which take forever to make), turned in along with a powerpoint presentation on one of the lesson plans on November 2. Along with that we have a group project due the same day in which we teach the class. And of course this is all due the Tuesday after fall break--what absolute idiot thought that up?!?!?

Then I went to turn in my applications for student teaching and there was a line to talk to Mrs. Vessel. I had to be at work in 15 minutes but the applications are due by tomorrow so I waited. When I finally got in I found out I didn't have all of the applications--so I have to fill out another one and then turn them in tomorrow. AUGH!

Then I got to work and there was lots of stuff for me to do! ARGH!

From now until Fall Break I have to dedicate myself to writting lesson plans so I can enjoy my time in Corpus.

*I'm a little put out right now*

It is Finished

My first official lesson is behind me...and there was much rejoicing. I would have to say that it went really well.

Last night I got a little frustrated at times at computers not working and the library not being open during church time (stupid Christian college--just kidding). I ended up working up at my mom's work most of the night. When I returned home at around 12:30, little did I know that a suprise was waiting for me...

I walked into the house and it was pitch dark. I assumed that Brooke and Robin had gone to bed--not that unusual. But then I stayed there in front of the door because I could see a strange red, blinking light coming from my room. As I stood there trying to decide what it was, a form came running and screaming at me from the living room and another from the hallway. Apparently Brooke and Robin had been really bored at home so they set up Robin's videocamera in my room and waited for me to return home. The video is hilarious--especially the part with Brooke and Robin waiting in the dark for me to come home.

I stayed up till 2:00 last night, having fun with the roommates and finishing my lesson plan. Needless to say I decided to skip my 8:00. At 9:30 I made my way to Grandy's were I got a lovely breakfast of pancakes and sausage and began to review my lesson. As I left Grandy's the rain began to pour. And of course the street I had to cross to get to AHS was flooded, and of course I was lugging around a video camera bag and a huge tripod, and of course I was in huge high-heels--sheesh.

I had an hour before my lesson (Mrs. Hamaty taught for 30 minutes, then the kids had lunch). I wasn't nervous at all--I was so thankful. All this week I had been praying for God to get me through this and he empowered me with strength and confidence. My lesson went very well--it went a little faster than I planned. I had overheads made and wrote information down so the students knew exactly what to use in their notes. I had a great mneumonic device to help them remember the 5 Pillars of Faith: Frosted Poptarts Are Fabulous Pastries
Frosted=Faith
Poptarts=Prayer
Are=Alms
Fabulous=Fasting
Pastries=Pilgrimage
I was very proud of this invention--I even drew a poptart on the overhead ; ).

At the end of the lesson I had a worksheet for the students to fill out. So the rest of the time was spent on that. I really enjoyed teaching. It was a little scary at first but once I knew what I was doing I dove straight into it.

Those Who Can't, Teach!

Tuesday after my 8:00 class I ventured up to AHS to speak with my teacher about the lesson I would be teaching on Thursday. When she saw me she asked how long I could stay and I told her till about 10:40 (can't have anything stand in the way of chapel--sheesh). So she lead me in to the holy of holies of the high school--that's right the teacher's workroom! Sitting on the table was a half-eaten cake from McKay's which Mrs. Hamaty told me I could eat (and I did!). I got suckered into grading tests while we discussed what I would teach. At first she told me they had been studying ancient African civilizations. I'm sure my eyes resembled a deer in the headlights of a large truck because I have not had much experience with this area of history. Then she said they were also studying the world religions. Much better--I could handle that. So it was decided that I would teach a 45-50 minute (not the whole hour and a half--hallelujah) lesson on Islam. Thanks to my previous world history classes and Rodney Ashlock's Christianity in Culture class I'm somewhat up to speed on this subject.

Today at work I have been diligently looking up information on the subject and checking out other teacher's suggestions on how to teach this concept to high school students. I'm already getting a bit nervous--probably because I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to teach this.

I'm looking forward to 1:30 tomorrow afternoon--that's when it will be all over!

Stay tuned for a discussion on how well (or not-so-well) the lesson goes.

To be continued...

Sleepy Monday

It's overcast, rainy, and a little on the cool side. It's my favorite type of weather. Too bad I'm stuck at school/observation/work all day...grrr! I'd much rather get in some comfy sweat pants and sweat shirt, curl up in bed with a book, and read till I fall asleep. Oh and throw a cup of hot chocolate with marshmellows in there too.

Observation at Abilene High was rather enjoyable. I went to my favorite teacher's classroom for 3rd period. Mr. Moore had plenty of stuff for me to do. I got to grade and record student's papers into his grade book. I've never looked too intently at a grade book before. It's sort of tricky--all these little boxes all over! Mr. Moore has these little puppets from Mexico that he lets students take on trips as long as they bring pictures back of themselves and the puppet. Mr. Moore introduced me to the class by pointing out the picture of me in Disneyland which he still has on his wall--that was 6 years ago.

Next I went to Mr. Galloway's (Bradley P.) economics class. He remembered that I was in his class which suprised me. He was a good teacher he just never seemed to know any one's name. His class wasn't as enthrolling as Mr. Moore's but it was still fun to see an old teacher.

As I was walking in the student parking lot to my car, I saw someone wave to me as they got out of their car. I thought it might be someone from my Block class coming to observe, but they didn't look familiar. Then I recognized the mysterious man--Tyler Lawrence, an old high school friend I haven't seen in about 2 years. He is attending Hardin-Simmons and is observing for English. I was so excited to see him!

Overall, it was a good day of observation. 22 hours down...23 to go (Oy)