100th Blog

This is my 100th blog--whoa! Happy 100th blog day!

Today I woke up with a sore throat. The rest of me felt fine, it just hurt whenever I swallowed. I had 2 tours to give so that didn't help my throat. By the end of the day my throat still hurt, I started coughing, and I had a few moments of dizziness. I really can not get sick right now. The art contest has begun and I have lots to do starting tomorrow.

After work I went and bought some potato soup and crossiants...along with a couple Cadbury Cream Eggs :) I think I'm going to go to bed early tonight to try and ward off these icky feelings.

Friendly Visit

Christy Weather's is coming to visit me! She called me today with the wonderful news; she has a non-profit job fair to attend in Houston on Tuesday. She is going to come into College Station Sunday and stay with me that night and Monday night. And since I have Monday off we can spend some time around town...who knows what trouble we will get into!

I found out at the beginning of this week that my sister, Traci, got her hair cut. She wanted it to look like Natalie off of Monk. Apparently it is very short. I have yet to see it. My mom said that she's had a few negative comments about it and I think it has made her a little self-conscious. What I love about Traci is that she is not afraid of things. She doesn't worry alot about what people think--sometimes I wish I had that quality. I wish I could be in Abilene to comfort her over this new change. If any of you in Abilene happen to see her, would you please compliment her on her hair?

Post V-Day

My dad came through! When I got home from work I checked my mail and there was a Valentine's card waiting for me with an apology for not being able to fit a rose inside.

When I reached my apartment door there was another surprise awaiting me. Outside my door there was a vase with a dozen yellow roses and a heart shaped candy box. Along with the presents was a very sweet note from a kind and courageous friend from college--his name will remain annonymous to protect the innocent. I was very, very flattered.

My party went very well. 3 girls from my devo showed up along with Heather a little later. I believe all of the girls from the devo are sophomores at A&M or Blinn College. Before we started a movie I had to introduce them to the special hidden interview on LOTR Return of the King (Rachael you would be so proud of me spreading the word). The girls had never seen Breakfast at Tiffany's so I enlightened them--such a great movie! The movie ended around 9:30 and we began talking, girl's favorite pasttime. They ended up staying until 11:30. I loved getting to spend this time with these girls and becoming closer to them.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone has had and will continue to have a wonderful Valentine's Day! This is my first V-Day away from my family. My dad would always get me a rose and sometimes something else special. When I worked in the Provost office he would leave it on my desk so it would be a nice suprise.

Work has been very fast paced today. We had a group of 130 7th graders come for tours in the morning time. They were some of the best behaved middle schoolers we've had so far. Then after tours I had lots of phone calls to make--mostly people I had ignored during History Fair craziness. Even though it gets a little chaotic at times, I love this job and am so happy I took it!

On Tuesday nights I usually have my girls devo but since it it Valentine's Day we canceled it for this week. So instead I have invited a group of girls from that devo (those that didn't have plans already) to come to my apartment for movies and special Valentine treats. I'm really excited--this is my first time to entertain people in my apartment! Last night I baked brownies and placed pink hearts on top with icing. I also found this cookie decorating set that has edible messages that you stick on top of cookies with icing. I mixed up a pitcher of pink lemonade kool-aid and watermelon kiwi kool-aid. I hope a good group of girls come over--I really want to get to know them better.

I saw another person I know from Abilene today. Taylor Black--a guy I went to high school with and haven't seen since high school. In fact he sort of dropped off the radar after high school. Christy, Trish, Heather, Kelly, and I use to discuss how none of us knew where he was...or if he was alive. After church today I went to lunch with a group from the college class. As I was leaving I noticed a family getting into the car next to me and it was Taylor! He was visiting his sister. He graduated from UT and is now living in New York. How weird is it that we would see each other in College Station?

Sidenote: I have a hard time letting people know what I am truely feeling inside. This includes myself.

Fancy Seeing You Here

I had a really interesting evening after work. I decided to do some window shopping that might turn into real shopping (and it did). I went to Pier One, hoping to use my gift card, and a few moments after entering the store I heard a man's voice say "Well, look it's Erin Crawford." I looked up and there was Thom Lemmons along with Heather Lemmons! I was so excited! I had been meaning to get together with Heather since she just recently moved to College Station.

Then after Pier one (where I did use my gift card on two end table stands) I went to browse around Target...one of the best stores ever. While there I saw Hannah Kemp who was my roommate at Junior Scholars and who went to ACU. She was there with her fiance registering. She moved down to College Station for a job. It's so weird that in the same night I saw people I knew from Abilene.

I Survived History Fair

Well, History Fair is officially over and everyone survived. For the most part it went very smoothly. It was a good day...but I am very tired. So here are some highlights from the day:

* Getting up at 6:00
* Driving in the dark and the rain
* Maning the Judge table
* Meeting some nice guys who are students at Blinn :)
* Receiving a walkie talkie to use for the day (only a few select received these)
* Pretty much being second in charge (only because I was the one who knew more about what was going on)
* Judging 2 documentaries, an exhibit, and a performance
* Huge rain storm at around 1:30--kids having fun in the rain
* Being the photographer at the awards assembly
* Giving Anne, my boss, roses for her immense work on the event
* Getting to sit down at 4:45

A New Start

So in my last post I talked about how I needed some help with my walk with God. Well, I had such an uplifting time at church. After church time I talked with Valerie for a bit and discussed times to get together for lunch. Then I saw Andrei who I hadn't seen since I left for my Christmas break. So we spent a long time catching up on things--I didn't leave church until 9:00. He heads up a non-profit organization that supports orphans in Romania. So I think I'm going to sign up to support an orphan. Our class on Wednesday nights has a spiritual journal that leads you through the week that you can buy. I haven't bought one but Andrei had one and talked about how wonderful it was. Since I didn't have one he gave the one he had to me! He told me he bought alot of them and just hands them out to people. So I am very excited about using this as a start on my spiritual journey!

Tomorrow is History Fair! We have been insanely busy all week--making packets, having orientation meetings, setting up tables, staying at work till 6:00. I have to be there at 7:30 which means I have to leave my apartment at 7:00--a coke will be needed in the morning.

Our girl's devo is not meeting this Tuesday because of Valentine's Day. So I am trying to get a group of the girls together for dinner and a movie that night--some classic girl time!

Deligence in My Walk with God

It amazes me how God works in our lives. Over the past few months I have had times when I would be struggling with an issue and God would place a person or words that would relate to what I was going through.

Tonight at my Girl's Devo I realized my relationship with God is not where it should be. We are studying the characteristics of a woman of God. Tonight we talked about being a woman of deligence. Through our discussion, Valerie (who is married) talked about how when you are married you loose alot of your time...mainly your time for God. I began to think about the fact that I have lots of time. Time that I am truely thankful for. Time that I can devout to God in many ways--prayer, study, service, and even just sitting in silence listening for His words. I don't think I appreciate or take advantage of all the possiblities I have in my life.

Judge Erin

Back from a great weekend in Abilene. I had so much fun getting to see all my girls! I really do miss all of you. We should start a monthly weekend thing...something to think and plan on...

Since I usually work on Saturdays I had to switch my work time. That means I am going to work Monday-Saturday this week. And it's going to be very busy because Friday is History Fair and there is lots to be done. Also Friday I have to be at work by 7:30--yuck! But I found out today I get to be one of the judges! I will be judging the projects on WWII and pick the best one. I'm really excited about that!

Last week I noticed that Walgreen's had Cadbury Cream Eggs out already. Those are without a doubt my favorite candy. I was so excited that they were out so early. So tonight I went back to get one...or two. When I got there they magically morphed in to Crunch and Butterfinger Eggs. Apparently they ran out a few days ago. So I had to settle for a Butterfinger Egg. I learned a lesson tonight--don't ever settle.

Does anyone watch Grey's Anatomy? If so...wow, what an episode!

Good End to a Busy Day

I was so incredibly busy today at work...it was great! The day went by so fast. I blinked and it was time to eat. I blinked again and it was time to leave--crazy! I was working on so many things at one time: calling back people, taking tour information, working on the art contest, helping with history fair, and working on my February Black History display--whew!

I had my girls' devo again tonight. We are studying the book Lady in Waiting which discusses the characteristics of a woman of God. Tonight we had a great discussion on Lady of Reckless Abandonment. Afterwards I stayed behind and talked with a group of girls. We talked about getting together later this week to get coffee or watch a movie. I'm so excited--I've been devoid of girl company for awhile.

While talking with my mom tonight I found out that my grandmother (my dad's mom) has Alzheimer's. During Christmas we worried about her because she would ask the same question 3 times within a few minutes. So this week she went and took the tests and they came back positive. They don't know how long it will be until it completely takes over. She will be meeting with the doctor to find out about everything. Please keep my grandmother and our family in your prayers. I'm not really sure what to expect with all of this. I've never known anyone with Alzheimer's.

Thought to Ponder

I am reading (and almost finished with) Memoirs of a Geisha, which I highly recommend. At one point in the book the main geisha takes a plane trip and I thought of a very random thing: How is it that a big hunk of heavy metal is able to fly in the air? Feathers fly in the wind. Balloons float up to the great blue beyond. So what makes a plane rise and stay in the air? If anyone knows the answer to this I would love to learn.

On my drive home from work today I saw two deer on the side of the highway...alive that is. They were right near the road eating grass. I was so excited! I've never seen wild deer.

I worked with foam and mat board to create pictures for my education exhibit for February. I really enjoyed it...which is good because I will be making a lot of these in the future. (Katrina, if you read this, I thought of you during this process and all the times I remembered you talking about mat board in your art projects).

Today I had a group of 5th and 6th grade Korean students come to the museum. The fun part with this was that they didn't speak much English. So we had a translator--I've never dealt with a translator before. Luckily, I didn't have to do much talking with the students. Instead of giving them the normal tour, I had them do the scavenger hunt (they were very good at reading English) and then had them spend the rest of the time in the Discovery Room. It was a very interesting experience.

Busy Day

Today I had another meeting at Blinn College in Brenham. The new employee meeting began at 8:30 which meant I had to leave my apartment by 7:30 to get there--ugh! To add to the fun of the day there was a thick layer of fog all the way from College Station to Brenham--thick as in I could only see about 20 feet in front of me. Once again this meeting had very little effectiveness for me, being an employee of the museum. And they didn't even have snack items or drinks for us...thank goodness I grabbed a honey bun before leaving!

Tonight was our first girls' devo. Our first meeting was mainly about getting to know each other in the group. Twelve girls showed up tonight but apparently there are twenty signed up. We are going to be studying with the book Lady in Waiting. Back in high school the "abilene girls" had a bible study using this book. I sort of remember the context but it will be good to study it again. When I first heard about the study I had told Valerie, the one in charge of the devo, that I was willing to use my apartment for the study. So next week we are going to try it out. I think my living room will accomodate everyone...we will see. I'm really excited about this devotional and what opportunities God will bring through the new friendships I make.

Chruch Happenings

I had some interesting events happen at church this morning and evening...all of them quite funny. This morning after the 3's class (which they were very rambunktious) I made my way to the auditorium for service. I tried to find Valerie or Andrei so I could sit with someone I knew. Unfortunatley they weren't in yet so I just sat on an empty pew. Then someone came and sat next to me--I thought it was Andrei but it was some other random guy. During the greeting time we introduced each other. His name was Caleb and he is doing grad work at A&M. I'd have to admit he was pretty cute. Well, the funny/embarrasing thing that happened while sitting next to him occurred during the communion. When the cup was passed to me I just happened to spill the cup all over the tray! I have never done that before...of course it would happen while sitting next to a cute guy. Sheesh!

The other humorous thing occurred later that night. I signed up for a 101 class the church was offering that night from 5-8. When I got there it was mostly senior couples. During the class we learned information about the church and I signed up for membership. Afterwards when we were all leaving one of the older ladies said she wanted my phone number. I thought maybe she wanted more information about where I worked. Completely off base. She said she had a grandson who works out here and goes to the church and she wants to try to play matchmaker. Then another lady came in the conversation and said her son was moving here in February. She said they might make a trip to the museum. I was so tickled by all of this!

Word of advice to all my single friends: get to know the older ladies at your church...they just might have an eligable son or grandson!

The Meeting

I was pretty busy today at work. My boss, Anne, was having a steering committee meeting for Regional History Fair which we are hosting in February. So at 10:45 I drove the museum van to Navasota to pick up the sandwhiches for lunch. It wasn't until I got into town that I realized I left the money on my desk--rats! Once I got back it was time for the meeting. I got to sit in because Anne wants me to know as much as possible about the History Fair in case she is sick on that day I will be able to take over--no pressure! It was interesting sitting in on the meeting. Before now I was always the one who held down the office while everyone else went to the important meetings. I'm still trying to get use to that switch in my mind. I have this salary position but I'm so use to being the student worker. It's weird having more power...I'm slowly getting use to it.

It's official. I signed up for Jitterbug Dancing class! Starting in February I will be going to class on Thursday nights from 7:30-9:00. I'm going to have to get a tape to record the O.C.--I'm so addicted!

Girl's Devo

Tonight at church I signed up for a girl's devo that will be starting on Tuesday nights. One of the girls from my small group (Valerie)works at the church and she is in charge of the devo. I got to talking with her and she told me how she has been meaning to call me to get together. We made plans to have lunch together in a few weeks. I'm really excited about the devo--this would be a good way for me to meet some of the girls here and get to know more about them than just their names. Hopefully Valerie and I will begin a friendship. I really am in need of a friend or two to go do things with.

Tomorrow we are celebrating one of our co worker's birthday. This is usually a fun time of cake eating. Unfortunatly I found out the cake tomorrow is going to have bananas and pineapples in it--blech! I don't do fruit in my desserts...it's something about the texture. So somehow I'm going to have to eat it...maybe I'll chase it down with coke.

Dazed and Confused

The past few nights I've been awakened by my phone. I use the alarm on my phone so when it beeps I'm use to getting up. So Saturday night/Sunday morning my phone began beeping. I was in such a deep sleep that I thought it was time to get up and get ready for church. Luckily I looked at the clock and it was 2:00 am--I had only been asleep for 2 hours. Apparently someone sent me a text message at this time. Then last night at around 3:00 am I received a phone call--a wrong number. Again I thought it was my alarm going off. Sheesh! I'm hoping tonight will be a night without interruptions.

The best dazed story I have happened my freshman year of college. My roommate and I were peacefully sleeping when our phone rang. Neither of us answered but I looked at my watch and saw that it was past 8:00 am. Well, I was suppose to be at the Provost office for work at 8. So I jump off my bed and start frantically trying to get ready and call my office to let them know what has happened. No one was answering so I figured my boss was on the phone. My roommate, Christy, asked what I was doing and I told her I was late for work. She sleepily asked "is it Friday". Then after a few seconds she said "Erin, it's Saturday. Go back to bed!" Stupid me!


P.S. I still want a dog.

Girl's Weekend

This weekend my mom and sisters came to visit me. On Saturday they came up to the museum while I was working. Last time they came to visit they only had 10 minutes to see the museum so this time they were able to spend an hour looking at everything. (Pictures of the museum can now be found on my facebook page). After work we went and had a wonderful dinner at Freebirds.

Sunday I taught my first lesson in the three year old class. It went great! I was worried because I was teaching the tabernacle which is a hard concept. But the kids were very attentive and remembered the word tabernacle! After church we went and ate at TGI Fridays. Man, I haven't been there in a long time...I had one heck of a burger! Later that night we went and saw Fun with Dick and Jane--such a funny movie! After the movie we sort of exited out the door that put us in the back of the theater. So we had to walk all the way around the building...in the rain.

Monday my sisters and I slept in while my mom did some work. Then for lunch we went to Pei Wei which is a fantastic chinese food restaurant (it's part of P.F. Chang's). After lunch I took my sisters to see my new favorite store--World Market. At around 3:30 my company was on the road and it was a little quieter. It was a wonderful weekend! Now back to the grind of work. (By the way: I think I'm going to sign up for the Jitterbug class--thanks Julie and Robin for the advice!)