I before E...always!

"Brian, what's the I before E rule?"
"Um, I before E...always?"
"No Brian, I before E except after C, or when sounding like A as in neighbor and weigh, or on weekends and holidays and all throughout May, and you'll always be wrong no matter what you say!"
-Comedian Brian Regan

This past week has been eventful! Thursday was Diadeloso, which means “Day of the Bear” in Spanish. Basically it’s a field day for college students with blow-up toys, carnival-like booths, and tons of bands, but it’s on Thursday so you can’t take a three-day weekend. It was a beautiful 78-degree day, so I woke up early and went running with Danielle. We jogged around an old (and huge) cemetery that is close to campus, and then jogged back to campus to check out the Diadeloso activities. We went back to Danielle and Rachel’s place and watched a movie while waiting for Rachel to get off work. Then the three of us headed to Cameron Park to "hike" (it's a pretty small park, so there's not much to hike, but it's Central Texas so I'll take what I can get). We actually had a glorious time, got some sun, laughed way too much, and enjoyed our Diadeloso to the fullest! 

Danielle and I overlooking some actual Texas greenery. 

Me, Rachel, and Danielle

What would the day be without a silly picture?!

Friday was a good day as well; I turned in my grant for Doug's class so there was a big chip off my shoulder. The 8 of us were also invited over to Doug's house that night for a class dinner (there was only 7 of us there but Bill, Alex, and Jamie brought their significant others), which was odd but nice to have free food. Doug made curry (although it was unlike any curry I've ever had) and we all sat around the fire and talked (um, on a 75-degree super-windy night, it was ridiculous). I stayed for about two and half hours, and I was the first one to leave. I thought I would only stay for an hour, but I didn't really know what was an "appropriate" time to leave. Regardless, I am finished with that class because I got my grant back today (Tuesday) and I got a 2.0 out of 5.0 (but 1.0 is the best and 5.0 is the worst, so a 2.0 is good)! Doug even sent Dr. Stanford an email saying that I am skilled in grant writing and that I should definitely develop an idea to actually submit. It's neat to get a compliment from Doug for a multitude of reasons, as he hates human studies and doesn't agree with my "heretical" worldviews, but he's very skilled in grant writing and has received many grants. Thus to get a compliment from him was a big deal, and although I'm completely relieved to be done with that course, I'm definitely excited to have rocked an assignment that was pretty tough.

Saturday was pretty low-key, but Sunday was amazing as it was Youth Sunday at First Pres. That means that the entire service--the invocation, scriptures, Gospel readings, etc.--was put on by the Youth. There was a script that Dave wrote, but the youth were responsible for everything. I was so proud of the kids! It was fantastic, with only a few glitches here and there. It's really neat to see the youth actually put on a formal church service while still being themselves. I'm so proud of them. After the service, I went over to Alexis's house for brunch and good company. She's thinking about starting a weekly brunch at her place, so that's really sweet of her (and I never pass up someone else cooking for me)! All in all, a good Sunday.

Lauren, one of the high school seniors, and I after Youth Sunday. 

So that's what's up with me! Love and miss you!

Chloe-Bear says hi!

Them chickens jackin' my style

Happy Wednesday, family and friends!  The title of this blog comes from the new Black Eyed Peas song, which doesn't make any sense at all but never fails to make me burst out into laughter when Rachel says it. I'm excited that the week is half over; for some reason, Monday and Tuesday seemed really long.

Monday night was the National Holocaust Remembrance Day, so Rachel, Danielle and I went with the First Pres Youth Group (all two of 'em, plus Pastor Dave) to a temple that was literally four blocks away from my house (who knew?!). The theme this year was "The Sound of Silence," in which people from different faiths read passages of books, poems, quotes or sung songs having to do with the idea of silence--either staying silent, hearing silence, the silence of the nations, etc. We lit six candles for the six million Jewish people that were killed, one for the one million more non-Jewish people that were killed, and one for all of those who assisted the Jews during those horrific years. I was surprised at how little people showed up--the temple was full, but it just seemed like a very small percentage of people who actually live in Waco. Jimmie Johnson, the head pastor at First Pres, read aloud an amazing passage about the silence of the nations--how people were able to be silent about the Holocaust killings because they didn't want to face the truth, or didn't want to be hurt themselves, or weren't strong enough to say anything. We all got booklets with all the passages and songs in them, so we got to read along too...powerful stuff.

Tuesday was a busy day, as I had to wake up early for the air conditioner guys to fix my air conditioning (success!). I headed to school and watched the presentations in Dr. Stanford's class again (and yet again, the group from my lab did amazingly) but didn't have statistics because Dr. Kirk was out of town. Nathaniel and I walked over to the library to drop off some evaluation forms for Dr. Stanford and then hung out for a bit talking about random things before my last class for Learning and Behavior! I loved some of the conversations that happened in that class, but it's weird that I feel like I only really know a few of the chapters we read while everything else made sense when I read it (and when people presented it) but went in one ear and out the other. Eh, over it. I'm done!

Today I have to do the final revision for my grant proposal that is due next Thursday (but we were offered extra credit to turn it in early because Doug's moving to Singapore) and write up a quick CV (curriculum vitae). Doug is having us include our CV because apparently he's grading us on how good of a candidate we are, but it's a little annoying because there's not much we have done! 

Currently I'm at Starbucks, procrastinating about revising my grant proposal. My tall iced Americano says hi. :)

Love you all! 

A picture, just to say hi! Here I am with Chloe-Bear on Easter!

Rockin' out, running, and the rest

Forgive me for being two days late on my weekly update—I promise to make up for it by posting two updates this week!

Last Monday (a week ago!), Robyn threw me a birthday dinner with a ton of food—steak, hot dogs, shrimp (barbequed and boiled), hamburgers, potatoes, beans, and more! It was just a small group of the normal grad school posse, with Nathaniel, Jay, Alexis, and Anthony. Alexis brought over her video game Rock Band, which for those who are unversed in current fads, this is one of them. It’s a team video game in which people “play” different instruments by strumming, hitting, or singing certain notes that the video game tells you to play. There are different levels to the game, easy, medium, hard, and expert. I started out on easy and graduated to medium, which makes me proud. We had a good time rocking out and switching instruments. 

Here is my favorite picture of the night, Robyn with the guitar and the light behind her.

Jay and I, watching the group play.

Nathaniel playing the drums. You can see the colored rings around the drums, and the video game tells you which color to hit. The better you are at hitting the right color at the right time, the more points your band receives.

Anthony playing the bass. 

Last week was pretty low-key, although presentations continued for the research methods class (if you recall, I teach one of the five labs that are included in this class). Thus, the presentations are occurring in the large class of 100 people, and 22 of those students are in my lab. I’m so proud of the two groups from my class that have presented so far, as I’m not allowed to tell them what statistical analyses to run on their data, just if they’re on the right direction. It is very clear to see that the two groups thus far have excelled in the statistical analysis section of the project, citing the correct statistics and knowing what those numbers mean. Makes me a proud Lab TA!

One of the groups that went on Thursday was not a group from my lab, but one of the members Danielle had come to my office a couple times to ask me for guidance on her project because she had a hard time making office hours for her TA. She and I have been corresponding a few times this semester, and she asked me on Wednesday if I’d like to run a 5K with her this past weekend. You all know me and know that the extent of my running lately has been maybe twice a week for two and a half miles, and that’s on a good week! So Wednesday late morning, I walked five miles with Robyn and then ran two more, when Danielle texted and asked if I’d like to run with her that night. We went running for three more, and although I almost passed out due to exhaustion, I decided to sign up for the 5K fun run.

The 5K was successful, with an average of a little over 9 minutes a mile (which is faster than my normal 10-minute mile). It was tough to keep up with Danielle when there were so many people running; she weaved in and out as if she was going 60mph when everybody else was in rush-hour 10mph traffic.  Needless to say, I lost her and ended up running with a couple other people who I had met through her. It was nice to run another race again and not get sick (yay, mom!).

Overall, since Wednesday, I have run 14 miles. Now that may not be a lot for many people who are runners (Kristen, no comments from the peanut gallery) but I’m proud of my progress and increasing stamina. I’ll keep you updated on my progress.

Meeting Danielle has definitely been a blessing, as I have been spending a lot of time this past week with her and her wonderful roommate Rachel. I went with them to their weekly coffee date on Friday morning before my lab, and then over to their place before the 5K to warm up and psych up. Then Sunday morning before church, I went over to their place to eat breakfast, as they always make chocolate chip pancakes on Sunday mornings. After, we went to Church Under the Bridge to say hi to all of their regulars. Rachel and Danielle are part of a team from their church who lead mini-sermons every Tuesday night at Mission Waco, the local homeless shelter. On Sundays, they stop by for 45 minutes or so to say hi and catch up on the past week. It was neat to be able to go with them and meet some incredible people before going to my regular church.

Sunday night after youth group I went back to their place and went running with the two of them before making crepes for dessert. Well, Rachel made the crepes but I spread the Nutella on them and rolled them up. I’ve never had crepes before, but they reminded me of fatter Norwegian pancakes…they were yummie! I also had a great time listening to their random stories about shenanigans they’ve done, places they’ve gone, funny things their grandparents have done, etc. I am sure that there will be plenty of stories about Danielle and Rachel in the future. 

Other than life, life is good. I miss you all! Come visit Texas, the weather is perfect this time of year! 

Chloe says hi. :) She was yawning and I caught her like this--cutest picture ever.

23 and counting

So far, this has been a pretty rockin' weekend...and it's only half over!  

The weekend started Thursday afternoon when my Learning and Behavior class decided to go out for dinner and drinks. We had just gotten our statistics exams back and the results were a bit brutal (although I am still maintaining my A-streak so I'm pretty satisfied). I had some leftover sushi waiting for me at home, but I went out for drinks and hung out for a bit with the first years (minus Alex, who was at his brother-in-law's wedding). Nathaniel also came, as he's in the class as well. We had a good time chatting, telling stories, and drowning our earlier statistics-sorrow with ample Mexican food and margaritas. 

Thursday night was a bit shaky, however, as my camera lens broke—four days after the warranty expired. Figures, right?! I was pretty frustrated and tried a bunch of home remedies from This Guy, but none of them worked. After about an hour of trying to repair my lens, I finally wrenched the lens back in place such that the guide pins slipped back into the guide slots. Success! Now it works just fine, which is glorious! Crisis averted.

Since Friday was my birthday, I made a cake to celebrate! Here are some pictures of the process:

Yum!

Yup, I love batter.

The finished product, without the candles that said "23," as I hadn't fixed my camera at the point (it broke between the batter process and the baking). 

Yum, a piece of cake and a chocolate martini. Sounds like a perfect birthday dessert!

I also made plans to go see the Hannah Montana movie with some girls from my youth group, but sadly, the movie was sold out at the theater we planned to see it at! We drove to another movie theater and got tickets for the next showing—that was in an hour—and waited in line for an hour for the movie to start! It was actually a lot of fun because we all got to sit around and chat about life. Emily and Hannah also tried to start a rendition of “Best of Both Worlds,” but got upstaged by a 7-year-old who knew all the dance moves. I also made goody-bags for the girls, as that’s what birthdays are for, completely with sun glasses, Hannah Montana stickers, lip gloss rings, party rings, a necklace, and candy. 

Outside the theater (and before the sun came out) wearing our awesome sunglasses and party gear! From left to right, me, Hannah, Emily, Kara, Lindsay, and Kitty.

This is the youth group bunch inside the theater, waiting in line for the concert! From left to right, me, Emily, Kara, Hannah, and Lindsay. 

Here are Emily and Lindsay singing "Best of Both Worlds." You can see the line continuing at the back of the theater!

I also received a great package from one of my best friends from college, Carey, who sent me some Hannah Montana stickers, a great singing Hannah Montana card, some lip gloss, mascara, a magnet that says "Thank God for Girlfriends," and a great book of girl talk! I love it. 

My aunt Heide sent a cute card with two hilarious gifts: "Wash Away Your Sins Lip Balm" and "Heaven or Hell?" sticky notes! She said they should be useful because I'm at such a Baptist university. ;)

I also received some cards from friends and family...try to find your card! I got a great kitty magnet from Stephanie Dickson (thanks, Steph!) but I don't have a picture of it...it looks like Chloe though (with different colored eyes). It's uncanny!

Speaking of Chloe, here's a picture of her new way of hanging out. I think my air conditioner is broken, and it was super hot on Thursday (92 degrees!) so she was a bit warm. She looks huge in this picture but she's really not!

Today, I went out to lunch with Nathaniel at a deli and then I think the guys (Nathaniel, Jay, and Anthony) are coming over to watch a movie. Tomorrow is Easter, which I'm excited for because I've never experienced a First Presbyterian of Waco Easter before. I was told to get there early because there's a lot of ChrEasters (people who only come on Christmas and Easter) who attend. Can't wait! I also dyed some eggs, and in honor of my family, I made one for us all.

Dad, who has brown hair (you can't tell in the picture) and an orange body; mom, who has blonde hair (and apparently a blonde back) and a green body; me, who has a pink head and a blue body; Scotty, who has a :/ face and a multi-colored body because he always makes his eggs multi-colored; and Chloe, who is all pink because I got tired. :) 

The rest of the weekend should be pretty low-key, as tomorrow and Monday I will be writing a grant proposal for Learning and Behavior (no school on Monday...fun!). I'll keep you updated. Love you all!

Holy sunburn, Batman!

I finished painting the trim in my dining room and I am very pleased! So pleased that I'd do the whole house if all the doors weren't that stupid off-white color! I decided to keep the little alcove thats underneath my counter the sandstone color, and had to arbitrarily pick a stopping point when I got to the door. Here are some updated pictures:

You can see here the door, in which it is that stupid off-white color! The trim is white, and then so is the inset where the window is (and the windowsill, but you can't see it in the picture). It looks absolutely gorgeous, and I'm glad I decided to paint the trim around the door only. 

In this picture, you can see the alcove (sandstone), the wall (olvine), the trim (white!) and the door color (ugly off-white). I think it looks great, but that's 'cuz I did it...what do you think?!

Today, I went to my first Baylor Lady Bears softball game, but to watch them play Oklahoma State University--with their center fielder, Miss Kelsey Anchors! For those who don't know, Kelsey's older sister Shayla was my best friend throughout junior high and high school, and we still frequently keep in contact. Kelsey is a freshman at OSU and is the Cowgirls' starting center fielder, batting in the ninth position. She rocked today and although OSU lost, the game went two extra innings so it was close! She actually started their hitting rally in the 8th inning with a sweet line drive up the first base line (she's a lefty). Here are some pictures!

Kels, holding down the outfield. 

Kelsey at bat. The lady on the left of the picture was the one who kept giving me mean looks.

Her adorable picture on the "Bear Vision" big screen. Yay for number 19!

It was 83 degrees here in Texas today, and since it was so warm, I decided to wear a light tshirt and shorts. The first two innings I was in the sun, but then the sun moved and I ended up in the shade. However during Kelsey's second time at bat, she had at least ten (I'm guessing more like 12) pitches thrown at her and she fouled them off right and left. The entire time (of course) I'm cheering for her and telling her to keep it up, etc. etc. etc. And the entire time, the lady in front of me kept turning around and giving me rude looks like I was personally attacking her for supporting Kelsey! Anyway, I moved to the third base side and figured I could be in the sun for another inning, as the game was almost over. Little did I know they would go into two extra innings, and I stayed in the sun longer than I thought I would be. So guess who is sunburned?!

Yup, me. You can even see my legs are burnt! Notice the white stripe on my arm where my Livestrong bracelet usually sits. :) Ah!

Now, I'm headed off to sneak Kelsey some cookie dough ice cream in her hotel room (shh!) and catch up, but love and miss you all!

[Mom, sorry but the way the Mac uploads pictures, half the time you can click on them to enlarge them, and half the time you can't. I tried to fix it three times and it won't work, so I don't know what's going on. Sorry you can't see my sunburn up close; it looks worse now!]

True Love

Me and my best friend