Then Sings My Soul

or, How to Save Money during a Texas Spring

After a major hailstorm that cools the air outside 20+ degrees but does NOT raise humidity, open doors and windows and set box fans to move cold air inside.

TADA! No need for a/c tonight!

Note: no Sander vehicles were damaged in the storm. Bonus!

That's where I got started, where I was born and bred
It's the fire inside of me
I couldn't have imagined this Texas highway led
Far beyond my wildest dreams
But I'll turn out the lights tonight
And say goodnight, but not goodbye

I'll be somewhere down in Texas if you're lookin' for me
Drinkin' in that great wide-open, soakin' up the summer breeze
Kickin' back and settled in with my family.
I'll be somewhere down in Texas if you're lookin' for me

Happy Texas Independence Day! It's been 173 years since we declared our independence from Mexico. (We are, contrary to the opinion of some, still independent from said country.)

The closing paragraph of the Texas Declaration of Independence:

We, therefore, the delegates with plenary powers of the people of Texas, in solemn convention assembled, appealing to a candid world for the necessities of our condition, do hereby resolve and declare, that our political connection with the Mexican nation has forever ended, and that the people of Texas do now constitute a free, Sovereign, and independent republic, and are fully invested with all the rights and attributes which properly belong to independent nations; and, conscious of the rectitude of our intentions, we fearlessly and confidently commit the issue to the decision of the Supreme arbiter of the destinies of nations.

The following is something I found online a couple years back, by Bum Phillips (coach of the Houston Oilers from 1975-1980). I've posted it on my blog on Texas Independence Day for a couple years now, and I'm gonna do it again this year.

Dear Friends,
Last year, I wrote a small piece about what it means to me to be a Texan. My friends know it means about damned near everything. Anyway, this fella’ asked me to reprint what I'd wrote and I didn't have it. So I set out to think about rewriting something. I considered writing about all the great things I love about Texas. There are way too many things to list. I can't even begin to do it justice. Lemme’ let you in on my short list.

It starts with The Window at Big Bend, which in and of itself is proof of God. It goes to Lake Sam Rayburn where my Granddad taught me more about life than fishin’, and enough about fishin’ to last a lifetime. I can talk about Tyler, and Longview, and Odessa and Cisco, and Abilene and Poteet and every place in between. Every little part of Texas feels special. Every person who ever flew over the Lone Star thinks of Bandera or Victoria or Manor or wherever they call "home" as the best little part of the best state.

So I got to thinking about it, and here's what I really want to say. Last year, I talked about all the great places and great heroes who make Texas what it is. I talked about Willie and Waylon and Michael Dell and Michael DeBakey and my Dad and LBJ and Denton Cooley. I talked about everybody that came to mind. It took me sitting here tonight reading this stack of emails and thinkin' about where I've been and what I've done since the last time I wrote on this occasion to remind me what it is about Texas that is really great.

You see, this last month or so I finally went to Europe for the first time. I hadn't ever been, and didn't too much want to. But you know all my damned friends are always talking about "the time they went to Europe." So, I finally went. It was a hell of a trip to be sure. All they did when they saw me was say the same thing, before they'd ever met me. "Hey cowboy, we love Texas." I guess the hat tipped ‘em off. But let me tell you what, they all came up with a smile on their faces. You know why? They knew for damned sure that I was gonna’ be nice to ‘em. They knew it ‘cause they knew I was from Texas. They knew something that hadn't even hit me. They knew Texans, even though they'd never met one.

That's when it occurred to me. Do you know what is great about Texas?

Do you know why when my friend Beverly and I were trekking across country to see 15 baseball games we got sick and had to come home after 8? Do you know why every time I cross the border I say, "Lord, please don't let me die in ______"?

Do you know why children in Japan can look at a picture of the great State and know exactly what it is about the same time they can tell a rhombus from a trapezoid? I can tell you that right quick. You. The same spirit that made 186 men cross that line in the sand in San Antonio damned near 165 years ago is still in you today. Why else would my friend send me William Barrett Travis' plea for help in an email just a week ago, or why would Charles Stenciled ask me to reprint a Texas Independence column from a year ago?

What would make my friend Elizabeth say, "I don't know if I can marry a man who doesn't love Texas like I do?" Why in the hell are 1,000 people coming to my house this weekend to celebrate a holiday for what used to be a nation that is now a state? Because the spirit that made that nation is the spirit that burned in every person who founded this great place we call Texas, and they passed it on through blood or sweat to every one of us.

You see, that spirit that made Texas what it is, is alive in all of us, even if we can't stand next to a cannon to prove it, and it's our responsibility to keep that fire burning. Every person who ever put a "Native Texan" or an "I wasn't born in Texas but I got here as fast as I could" sticker on his car understands. Anyone who ever hung a map of Texas on their wall or flew a Lone Star flag on their porch knows what I mean.

My Dad's buddy Bill has an old saying. He says that some people were forged of a hotter fire. Well, that's what it is to be Texan. To be forged of a hotter fire.

To know that part of Colorado was Texas. That part of New Mexico was Texas. That part of Oklahoma was Texas. Yep. Talk all you want. Part of what you got was what we gave you. To look at a picture of Idaho or Istanbul and say, "what the Hell is that?" when you know that anyone in Idaho or Istanbul who sees a picture of Texas knows damned good and well what it is. It isn't the shape, it isn't the state, it's the state of mind. You're what makes Texas.

The fact that you would take 15 minutes out of your day to read this, because that's what Texas means to you, that's what makes Texas what it is. The fact that when you see the guy in front of you litter you honk and think, "Sonofabitch. Littering on MY highway."

When was the last time you went to a person's house in New York and you saw a big map of New York on their wall? That was never. When did you ever drive through Oklahoma and see their flag waving on four businesses in a row? Can you even tell me what the flag in Louisiana looks like? I damned sure can't.

But I bet my ass you can't drive 20 minutes from your house and not see a business that has a big Texas flag as part of its logo. If you haven't done business with someone called All Tex something or Lone Star somebody or other, or Texas such and such, you hadn't lived here for too long.

When you ask a man from New York what he is, he'll say a stockbroker, or an accountant, or an ad exec. When you ask a woman from California what she is, she'll tell you her last name or her major. Hell either of ‘em might say "I'm a republican," or they might be a democrat. When you ask a Texan what they are, before they say, "I'm a Methodist," or "I'm a lawyer," or "I'm a Smith," they tell you they're a Texan. I got nothin' against all those other places, and Lord knows they've probably got some fine folks, but in your gut you know it just like I do, Texas is just a little different.

So tomorrow when you drive down the road and you see a person broken down on the side of the road, stop and help. When you are in a bar in California, buy a Californian a drink and tell him it's for Texas Independence Day. Remind the person in the cube next to you that he wouldn't be here enjoying this if it weren't for Sam Houston, and if he or she doesn't know the story, tell them.

When William Barrett Travis wrote in 1836 that he would never surrender and he would have Victory or Death, what he was really saying was that he and his men were forged of a hotter fire. They weren't your average everyday men.

Well, that is what it means to be a Texan. It meant it then, and that's why it means it today. It means just what all those people north of the Red River accuse us of thinking it means. It means there's no mountain that we can't climb. It means that we can swim the Gulf in the winter. It means that Earl Campbell ran harder and Houston is bigger and Dallas is richer and Alpine is hotter and Stevie Ray was smoother and God vacations in Texas.

It means that come Hell or high water, when the chips are down and the Good Lord is watching, we're Texans by damned, and just like in 1836, that counts for something. So for today at least, when your chance comes around, go out and prove it. It's true because we believe it's true. If you are sitting wondering what the Hell I'm talking about, this ain't for you.

But if the first thing you are going to do when the Good Lord calls your number is find the men who sat in that tiny mission in San Antonio and shake their hands, then you're the reason I wrote this tonight, and this is for you. So until next time you hear from me, God Bless and Happy Texas Independence Day.

May you be poor in misfortune, rich in blessings, slow to make enemies and quick to make friends. But rich or poor, quick or slow, may you know nothing but happiness from this day forward.

Bum Phillips

She wants to wear my shirt to bed
She wants to make every stray a pet
And drive around in my truck with no place to go

But she needs to feel that fire
The one that lets her know for sure
She's everything I want and more
Her real desire is to know I'd walk alone out on the wire
To make her feel that fire

She wants a cabin in the woods
She wants to stand where nobody stood
And someday she wants a couple kids of her own

Every time this song plays on the radio, Jason looks at me out of the corner of his eye and grins. Apparently it describes me well.


I forgot to tell a story!

A couple weeks ago - I really can't remember now when it happened - on a Sunday morning while Jason and I were getting ready for church, it suddenly began to storm. Right as we were about to walk out the door, there was a HUGE thunderclap and the fire alarms in the whole building went off. And continued to go off. Jason went out in the rain and walked around the building to make sure nothing was on fire. Nothing was, but since the alarms continued to go off and the emergency maintenance people for the apartment complex were EXTREMELY unhelpful, I called the non-emergency line for the fire department. They sent out a truck, and the firemen figured out that lightning had struck a tree that's about 5 feet from our apartment building, and a few yards from our unit. The electricity had jumped to the building and set off the alarms. It fried the alarms, which caused them to continue to go off even though there was no fire (thankfully).

We were extremely thankful that nothing happened, and that we were home when the lightning struck. We called the management when the office opened that afternoon and told them that the alarms had been fried, but they still haven't been fixed as of today. I've called several times to ask about the progress, and they never call me back. This is just one in a long list of problems we've had with them... and it makes me feel rather unsafe...

If you're friends with me on Facebook, check out the album titled "January - February 2009" for pictures of the tree and its proximity to our unit.

I linger in the doorway
Of alarm clock screaming
Monsters calling my name
Let me stay
Where the wind will whisper to me
Where the raindrops, as they’re falling, tell a story

In my field of paper flowers
And candy clouds of lullaby
I lie inside myself for hours
And watch my purple sky fly over me

I love sleep. Sleep is my friend. I tend to need more than the prescribed 6-8 hours, though I rarely get it. Since I've been getting up at 7 lately to work out, though, I haven't noticed being any more tired than usual... and I'm getting half an hour less sleep. Interesting. This could be a good thing...

Speaking of that working out thing, it's going pretty well so far. I've discovered that I actually enjoy getting all sweaty and then taking a shower right away - I feel REALLY clean. (I'm weird, yes.) I also like that I'm sore. Yay for using muscles!

My loved ones, rest securely,
For God this night will surely
From peril guard your heads.
Sweet slumbers may he send you
And bid his hosts attend you
And through the night watch over your beds.

-- Paul Gerhardt

Jason and I are up in Plano this weekend for the North Texas Lutheran Free Conference at Faith Lutheran Church. We're manning an HT booth and answering the plethora of questions. Craig Parton and Pastor Wilken are the two presenters, and so far it's been awesome! We did Vespers at the close of today's sessions, and sang this hymn at the end. Gerhardt has such a good way with comforting words...


Yesterday I had a terrible struggle with the copier. Somehow -- still not sure if it's my fault or not -- it developed *very black* stripes down the middle of every page from every drawer through every feeder. The Ricoh repair guy doesn't come out until 2 or 3 days after you make a service call. So, I stayed at work 'till 4 with Pastor Quail trying to figure out a way to finish the propers for Sunday. It's a double-sided 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper, and none of our other printers print duplex. Long story short, the internet went down and one of the old copiers also developed stripes after 5 sheets, so after much pain and groaning we got one printer to print one side, then put the sheets back in and printed the other side. It all worked out, but it was SUCH a pain. Ahh technology...


So I'm debating. Do I buy a new motherboard/processor for my desktop, or save the $300+ and put it towards a laptop? It's not like I don't like my desktop... and we do have a laptop that works fine for conferences, etc... but I do want to have a laptop someday. So what to do?? I need to research how much it really will cost to replace my motherboard and processor. If I put XP on it it'll be up to date and good to go.

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right.

I watched President Obama's inauguration on my computer at work on Tuesday (streamed it from Fox News) with our church school's kindergarten class. I have to say, John Williams' arrangement of Simple Gifts was the best part. (Heh, heh.) I love Simple Gifts...


Newsletter Week (cue screams of terror) turned out to be not so bad, but not perfect either. I still ended up staying at work half an hour late to finish printing the last page, but it was my fault this time since I watched the inauguration all morning. I did, however, get it all finished today and ready to go to the post office in the morning, which is pretty much a record. I love my ladies that come and put it together for me! They help out SO much. Church ladies are awesome!

Oh now there's a place for you and me
Where we can dream as big as the sky
I know it's hard to see it now
But baby someday we're gonna fly
This road we're on, you know it might be long
But my faith is strong
It's all that really matters

Somehow Jason's laptop managed to get a NASTY nasty virus. One of the pop-up ads ones that throws ads up all over the place while you're online. Now, I've got Ad-Aware, AVG, ZoneAlarm and Spybot all installed on both computers, and they've all served me well for several years. They've cut through any virus we've had, including one that Norton didn't get.

But, somehow, this one went undetected even though I updated and scanned with all of my programs. I tried to look it up online and remove it myself, but apparently there's several manifestations of this particular virus, and none of the 50+ files and registry keys the websites told me to look for were on the computer. I finally found several forums that referenced a free anti-virus software that WOULD detect and get rid of this specific virus, so after 3 hours and a tearful temper tantrum I FINALLY got rid of the dang thing. It's running fine now. Thank the Lord.

Newsletter Week (cue screams of terror) at church is turning out to be not-so-bad this month (knock on wood). I actually received ALL of the articles BEFORE Monday (the deadline is Sunday), which is incredibly unusual. I nearly finished formatting it today and tomorrow I'll polish it off and print it. Instead of the usual last-minute articles coming in Tuesday afternoon right before I print and me having to work way past 3 to get it all done before the ladies come to put it together early Wednesday morning.

Pastor Borghardt's gone to Symposia for the week, and of course as soon as he leaves I have a theological question. I know there's a few pastors that read this, so would someone enlighten me as to the Lutheran interpretation of Malachi 3:10? My hubby's non-denominational intern was using this verse as a law to say why WE MUST TITHE. And so hubby asked me what I thought of it, and I, in my virus-addled state, didn't have an answer.

Even with all the issues this evening, I did manage to whip up a beautiful and yummy batch of oatmeal cookies with my SHINY NEW MIXER (no, it will never get old!). Oh, the wonderful spiced fluffiness...

...but I had to move into a different apartment unit in the same complex. I will blog about our experience someday.

In the meantime, if you have our address, the apartment number changed from 5102 to 8202. If you have mailed us stuff to the old address since October (when we moved), I DID get it - the post office is forwarding our mail until October '09.

Please update your address books! :-)

In my dreams, I see
A little sky blue house beside a small stream
A front porch, a screen door,
The sound of barefeet running and cartoons
In my dreams, your dreams come true

Today we went down to Woodforest National Bank's "Waterway branch" (which is a story in and of itself -- it's one of the fanciest Woodforests around) to talk to a mortgage specialist and see what our house-buying options are.

It was VERY encouraging, in my opinion. With an FHA loan, we can "get away with" a small down payment and a fairly good interest rate. She gave us a good faith estimate on two loan amounts (which were right about what we thought we could qualify for) and the monthly payment ended up being almost exactly what we're paying on rent right now, which is right where we want to be on a house payment.

Basically, it confirmed everything Jason had been figuring in his head, and made me feel like we can actually do this this summer. Assuming, of course, that we find a house in our price range that doesn't need a ton of work.

We've found 3 or 4 that we want to go look at. I'm gonna call up the realtor we worked with last summer who was really good (she actually taught both of Jason's ex-girlfriends in high school and recognized him) and see if we can set up some showings. We figure we could probably close on a house in April, which means we need to get cracking on finding something. There's quite a few houses that have just recently gone on the market in the Conroe area that are around our price range, and with the market like it is now, they'll probably still be there in a couple months.

PS: That song, In My Dreams by Josh Turner, is one of my favorites. It's pretty sappy, but it describes Jason and I pretty well... the chorus I quoted is PERFECT. Sky blue house, front porch, screen door, barefeet running and cartoons... yep. That's my heaven right there.

I've been meaning to blog about Jack since we got him, but I haven't had the time until now. So, here goes...

Jack (the Ripper, Jack Attack, Jack-Jack, Jack Shepherd, etc) is the puppy of one of our friends from church's dog. Jack's mom, Muddy, had 11 puppies (1o survived) on May 10, 2008, and we told them we'd take one of them off their hands. Muddy is a Shar Pei/Lab mix, and since we don't know who the dad was, we can only guess as to what else is in Jack. We're almost positive there's Doberman Pinscher, which you can tell just by looking at him.

He's pretty much a lab in personality, but has some Dobie traits, too. He's happy-go-lucky, but also incredibly smart. He also doesn't mind punishment (or has a very high pain tolerance), so we've had to be creative about training. He's also developed into a power-chewer, which has made it difficult to keep him occupied; we've resorted to giving him a huge rawhide bone for about an hour at a time througout the day. (Yes, he destroyed an Extreme Kong.)

He loves ice. This makes for some pretty hilarious play-sessions. He also likes to chase a laser pointer, which is a GREAT way to wear him out at night. Jason also loves the laser pointer, so it's a good way for me to get stuff done in the evenings without "the boys" underfoot. (LOL)

Jack and Jason have an interesting relationship - Jason is obviously Jack's favorite person (even though he loves me, too), but he takes training WAY better from me. Jason and Jack know how to push each other's buttons, let's put it that way. (I can go a whole afternoon without yelling at Jack, but put Jason in the room with him and within 10 minutes they'll be "yelling" at each other.) He's a great guard dog; he often barks at stuff that I don't hear for another few minutes, which is great when I'm doing laundry or dishes and don't hear someone knocking at the door.

He will be calm in any position you put him in. Jason likes to sit on the couch and put Jack stomach-side-up in between him and the arm of the couch. Jack will just lay there and stare at the ceiling. He's also comfortable thrown over Jason's shoulder or carried around like a baby.

At 8 months old he's about 40-45 lbs and has outgrown his first crate, so now we're trying to figure out how to re-arrange our bedroom to accomodate a larger crate. Monster puppy!

So, anyway, that's Jack. I will amend this post later with pictures!

I'm in a hurry to get things done
Oh I rush and rush until life's no fun
All I really gotta do is live and die
But I'm in a hurry and don't know why

Tuesdays and Wednesdays are gonna do me in, I think.

I work 9 to 3 Monday through Friday on my "regular" job as church secretary. After I get off of work, I usually practice the organ (I'm taking lessons) and piano (I play for Wednesday night services) up at church and then go home to work on any HT projects I have at the time. This is nothing new. But on Tuesdays, I have an HT conference call at 3, followed by my practicing, and now I've added a piano student at 4:15. Wednesdays are even better - work 9 to 2:30, go home to change and let the dog out, then drive 45 minutes to Tomball for an hour organ lesson, 45 minutes back, straight up to church for supper, Evening Prayer and Bible study.

Now, that may sound really whiney - but that's only because it's Thursday and I'm pooped. I absolutely LOVE all of the above-mentioned activities.

My new piano student, an 11 year-old named Katelyn, is going to be SO much fun to teach. She already plays the flute, and has had some general music classes at school, so she's flying through the first lesson book. I'm THRILLED. As long as she practices, it's going to be awesome.

Organ lessons are going well, but I just found out that Michael (my teacher who is AMAZING) is moving back to Canada in the fall to get his doctorate from the University of Alberta. His original plan was to stay and finish it at Rice, but there's a lot of things that have made that the less advantageous path. We're gonna really miss him... Zion in Tomball, where he's the organist, is gonna be stuck in another rut. There's just not enough organists around here. Anybody know someone who wants to move down here for an organist gig?? Heh. (This is also the reason why I've finally caved an am taking organ lessons - St. Mark hasn't been able to find someone in 2+ years.)

If I can manage to keep posting on my blog again, I might just post a few recipes. I've made some kick-butt stuff lately that Jason has RAVED about, so I might just have to post them. Be on the look-out...

So, we go into Texas Roadhouse and it's 70 degrees and I'm in a sleeveless shirt, jeans and flip-flops. We come out an hour and a half later and it's 52 degrees.

That is all.

PS: I know my pictures are broken. My host died. I will fix. kthx.

In that holler back in the woods
Where the country folks got it good
Homebrewed, homegrown
Where the wild seeds 'a get sown
It's a blast from the past
All the cowgirls shakin' their sassafras
Let out a howl if 'ya feel like 'ya gotta
If you wanna go on back to the holler
Holler back

I kept thinking of this song while I was gone to all the conferences, so in a futile effort to get it out of my head, here it is.

So... Tropical Storm Edouard. French name, French personality. Total wimp. Now, I AM thankful it wasn't a bad one, but dude - the media needs to quit hyping these things up like they're gonna blow us all away. People won't believe them when there actually is a serious one on its way. The reporters were going around TRYING TO FIND high water to stand in and report about. It's retarded. HOWEVER - we did get a bunch of rain, which has been desperately needed here for a month or so now. Conroe is under mandatory water rationing (which doesn't really affect Jason and I, since we're in an apartment) and a burn ban.

When I woke up Tuesday morning, I was expecting to go to work, as it was just raining - but the weather people kept saying it was going to get a lot worse around 11 am. So I called Pastor Quail, who told me that they were going to close the school at 11. I decided not to go in, just in case it did get worse and I wasn't able to get home from church. Jason went in to work for about 2 hours and I went back to bed (glorious sleep!!). He came home at 11 and we piddled around until about 2:30, when I decided to clean our tub/shower and he decided to go back to work, since there was practically no wind. Just heavy downpours. And that was basically it the whole day - lots of good rain, but nothing else. No flooding, either, since the ground has been so starved for water.

We (as in the Conroe area) actually had a random pop-up severe thunderstorm with a tornado and all on Sunday evening. The wind was upwards of 35+mph gusts, the power went out, and the rain was so hard we could barely see to drive (we were on our way to Jason's parents' house during the worst of it). There were trees and power lines down everywhere, and a tornado was spotted in Cut-n-Shoot. This 45-minute storm did more damage than a whole days' worth of a tropical storm. Gotta love gulf coast weather...

Today is my last day of work for this week, as tomorrow we're heading down to my parents' house for Bekah and Zach's wedding! YAY! Thursday is various preparations and the rehearsal, Friday is the wedding, Saturday we'll be hanging with the Stuckwisch clan and Sunday there will be a mini Theiss reunion with my dad's siblings at Grandma's apartment. I'm really excited about the whole shebang, since we'll get to see tons of relatives and friends - not to mention the fact that my sister's getting married! I, by the way, am a bridesmaid, so I have a gorgeous dress (in cranberry) and really awesome sparkly shoes that I get to wear. Yay for getting to dress up!

Look for a post about our new puppy soon... :-)

EDIT: Anecdotes from the life of a small-town church secretary, #1: The Chairman of the Board of Christian Education and Youth Chairman and general fix-it guy (yes, one person) of our church just came in and told me and the pastors "Don't flush the toilet, don't cut the water on, don't do ANYTHING with water until I come back and tell y'all to." I really need to learn to quit holding it 'till the last minute.

Our Paschal Lamb, that sets us free,
Is sacrificed. O keep
The feast of freedom gallantly;
Let alleluias leap:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Again
Sing alleluia, cry aloud: Alleluia! Amen!

I can't even begin to describe the Higher Things conferences this year. Absolutely wonderful. As exhausting as it was to do all three, I wouldn't have had it any other way. Here's a few thoughts...

Scranton
+ Pastor Kind rocks! He was the head of worship at Scranton. Chris Loemker, the organist, also rocks. Hard.
+ Karaoke Thursday night after Divine Service. See this video to see why. (Yes, that is St. Mark's youth group, Pastors Borghardt, Bamsch, and Buetow - and Stan Lemon.)
+ The amazing capability, friendliness and helpfulness of Fran Mancuso and her staff at the University of Scranton. We are SO going back there.
+ REALLY BIG SQUIRRELS. Not fat - just LARGE.
+ Meeting Jon Kohlmeier! Awesome, dude!
+ St. Mark being there. My youth group!

St. Louis
+ St. Francis Xavier College Church. Beautiful doesn't even begin to describe it.
+ This quote:
Buetow: "So, are you going to swing the incense reverently?"
Stuckwisch: "Yes. And then I'll send it crashing to earth to unleash the horsemen of the apocalypse and the seven plagues."
Buetow: "Oooh, the kids will love that!!"
+ Seeing Pr. Stuckwisch! We're almost related!
+ The best dorms ever. We even had washers and dryers IN OUR APARTMENT. Sweet. (Not that we used them.)
+ Getting to drive back and forth to the airport - I love driving!
+ Duuuude, Kohlmeier's in the room!
+ My cousins being there!

Irvine
+ THE BEACH! THE OCEAN! SWIMMING!
+ ANNA!
+ Shiner with the Cwirlas
+ Cwirla's slideshow of photoshopped pictures of HT staff members. Hilarious!
+ Pat and Tasha. Awwwww!
+ The best internet out of the three. Even though I used it less. Heh.
+ The gorgeous weather
+ Zion being there! With my widdle sister Hannabutt!
+ Pirate Christian Radio! Arrr.

All Three
+ Pastor Borghardt and Pastor Buetow's AMAZING plenaries. They did GREAT!
+ The sermons of Borghardt, Buetow, Cwirla, Kuhlman, Kind, and many more that I can't remember right now...
+ Hanging out with my HT family for three weeks. Hannah, Erin, Sandra, Borghardt, Buetow, Sue, Gina, Stan and I went to all three. Whew!

I realize that isn't anywhere near a good summary, but it's just about all I can get out right now. And I won't even promise a better summary, because I know I'll never get around to it. ;-)

And looking on to next year... SOLA! San Antonio and Grand Rapids. AWESOME!

By grace I’m saved, grace free and boundless;
My soul, believe and doubt it not;
Why stagger at this word of promise?
Hath Scripture ever falsehood taught?
Nay; then this word must true remain:
By grace thou, too, shalt Heav’n obtain.

With my arms tight holdin' us together
Breathin' deep
Driftin' like a feather in a stream

Then I touch you on the shoulder
Feel your skin soft underneath my fingers
And I know we'll never get to sleep

You wink, I laugh 'cause we know
A little hug leads to a foot rub
Then a hot tub
Then a french kiss on a bear rug
Do you like it, do you like it
How about this
Wanna try it?
Oh, oh, oh - I'll take that as a yes

One year!

I love my husband... :-)

Baby I have been here before
I know this room, I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

There was a time you let me know
What's real and going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

I've had this song stuck in my head ever since I heard Jason Castro sing it on American Idol... it's so... haunting. And it sticks with you. I think Jeff Buckley's version is the best, but if you want another good one, go look up the Allison Crowe version on youtube. She's pretty dang good.

So I made my first attempt at baking homemade bread today. It turned out beautifully!! I'm sooo pleased with it. Jason loves it (which was the point in the first place - to get him off of store-bought preservative-ridden gross stuff), and it tastes, looks and smells amazing. So I'm terribly happy! (Thank you for the recipe, Rachel!!!) Now the question is how long will it stay fresh...

House hunting is disappointing as of yet. We've looked at a couple... they're either too small, too expensive, or too much work needs to be done. We figure if we're supposed to buy a house, the right one will come along... but so far we haven't found it. I really want to be out of an apartment. I feel the need to paint and put nails in the walls and play my music (with BASS) super loud and not worry about neighbors. Oh, and I want a dog... and a baby. Gee I sound selfish. ;-) Honestly, this apartment complex has been great so far - other than the uncontrollable neighbors, the management has taken care of everything we've needed. I'm just used to a house and... anxious, I suppose, to get back into that type of situation.

Jobs, etc, are fine... HT's getting busier as we get closer to the conferences (woohoo!! This year's gonna rock!).

I'm sure everybody who (still) reads this has heard that Issues, etc has been canceled... but Pastor Borghardt's post is a really good one to read. http://blog.higherthings.org/borghardt/article/3483.html

That's all for now, folks... y'all have a blessed Holy Week!

Commandancy of the Alamo
Bexar, Feby. 24th 1836

To the People of Texas & all Americans in the world –

Fellow citizens & compatriots — I am besieged by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna — I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man — The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken — I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls — I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch — The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country –

Victory or Death.

William Barret Travis
Lt. Col. Comdt.

Like a gift from the heavens it was easy to tell
It was love from above that could save me from hell
She had fire in her soul, it was easy to see
How the devil himself could be pulled out of me
There were drums in the air as she started to dance
Every soul in the room keeping time with their hands
And we sang

Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay
And the voices rang like the angels sing
And singing
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay
And we danced on into the night

I've been neglecting my poor widdle blog...

So. 7 weeks - count 'em - SEVEN weeks after the accident, we finally got an adjuster to come out to the apartment and assess the damage on my truck. This was AFTER I had repeatedly called and talked to the idiots at Allstate and gotten nothing done. The guy assigned to our case even had the GALL to call me a week and a half after I had last left a message for him and tell me that if I didn't call him back within 24 hours he would close the claim. Jason about ripped him a new one after that.

So a really nice guy comes out to assess the damage on my truck. I stood outside in 50-degree weather for two hours in the evening while he checked everything and wrestled with his computer. 30 minutes after Jason came home, the guy wrote me a check for $2600 in damages. He said he didn't think the company would like it very much, but we had been through enough so he was gonna give us the check anyway. God bless that man.

We drove the truck over to my in-laws so Jason's dad could look at it. Those Sander men know Chevy trucks backwards and forwards... there's very little they can't fix themselves. After checking around at a couple salvage yards, Bob found all the parts we need to fix the bumpers, tail light, and driver's seat. We're going to be able to fix everything that needs to be fixed on my truck, fix my door (a previous problem -- won't shut right), pay Jason's dad, and get Jason new rear tires for his truck for $1000. That leaves us with $1600. We're planning on using some of it to get to Bean's wedding in May, and the rest is gonna sit in savings for a rainy day. For all the trouble they gave us, this is worth it.

Hastings is working out really well -- so far I haven't worked more than three days a week. The pay is REALLY piddly, but it's helping us out this month with Christmas presents. The job itself is easy -- I just check people out, check in rentals, and stock the rentals after checking them in. It's four and a half hours per day (9 - 1:30), 2 to 4 days a week. I worked Black Friday, and that wasn't even that bad -- it was PACKED right as we opened, but after that the people kinda just came in nicely spaced out floods. We had plenty of people working, so it wasn't that terrible. As Christmas gets closer, it's getting busier, but it's still not that bad -- at least during my morning shift.

Other than all that, we've been moderately busy. We've got something going on every weekend as usual -- this weekend we're going to a wedding on Saturday in Houston, and then we're going to my parents' on Sunday to bake kolachkys. Not kolachies, kolachkys. It's a pastry cookie thing that's totally awesome. We've always baked these cookies for Christmas with my Na Na, mom, sisters and me, so it's a pretty nifty tradition. And the dough is really good. ;-)

My cousin Toombs is letting us borrow his XBox 360, so I rented Halo 3 from work on Wednesday. I'm tearing through it on normal right now -- I just loooove Halo. It's sooo spiffy. I have it 'till this coming Wednesday, so I'm hopefully gonna finish it and get Jason used to the XBox controllers so we can play the boys and my sisters on New Years. Woohoo!

I’m a son of a 3rd generation farmer
I’ve been married 10 years to a farmer’s daughter
I got 2 boys in the county 4-H
I’m a lifetime sponsor of the F.F.A.
Hay! That’s what I make
I make a lotta hay for a little pay
But I’m proud to say
I’m a God fearin’ hard workin’ combine driver
Hoggin’ up the road on my a p-p-p-plower
Chug a lug a lugin’ 5 miles an hour
On my International Harvester

Jason and I heard this song on the radio on the way up to Arlington - we decided to take Highway 75 instead of Interstate 45 this go-around, which is such a pleasant drive as compared to messy icky 45. (45 was built basically to replace 75, which is windy, slow and old.) So this song definitely applied - we passed several tractors on the way. Read the lyrics and see if you can find a clip or video or something - it made us laugh out loud when we heard it.

So has anyone else ever been involved in an accident with a client of Allstate insurance? Because so far, they suck. It's been almost two weeks and we can't seem to get anything done. Even after finally figuring out which company the woman who hit us was insured by, and getting through to someone who had some information for me, I was told that nothing could be done at the moment because they hadn't accepted liability for the accident yet. "The claims adjuster has to get everyone's statement." No one has called us for a statement. "He also needs the police report." I have a physical copy sitting in front of me, and have had it since three days after the accident. "You can take your truck to one of our approved shops," (thank God our Chevy dealer is on their list) "but we can't get started on it until the adjuster has seen it." We shouldn't actually drive the truck, but we can't get a tow truck - much less a MUCH-needed rental vehicle - until they "accept liability for the accident". So today, while I'm sitting in a hotel room and Jason's off at training, I'm going to call the adjuster and figure out just what the heck is going on. It's not like there was any question who was at fault - the woman admitted it outright and the cop verified it.

A side note from this one-of-many experiences in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metro area - Dallas drivers beat Chicago's hands-down. They are insane.

Hung my cotton dress on rusted wire
Up there on Pilahatchee Bridge
Just a crazy roughneck's daughter
Jumped head-first into the water
Baptized away my sins

Mama said idle hands are Devil's handywork
Oh, the trouble you'll get into
You got nothin' better to do, got nothin' better to do
You got nothin' better to do, got nothin' better to do

I have ants in my apartment, I still can't find a job and my truck got rear-ended. It hasn't been my week so far.

The ants should be gone soon. They haven't found my pantry as of yet (now I've jinxed it); they're just hanging out by the door. I threw a bunch of ant killer stuff out around the door and in the grass, so hopefully they'll take the bait...

It's actually probably good that I can't find a job, at least for the next couple of weeks. HT work has been crazy-busy, as all HT work tends to be, so I haven't had much time to clean house much less work somewhere else. I'm going to Scranton, PA for a site visit Thursday - Saturday, which I'm excited about - except for having to leave my hubby with leftovers and an invitation to his mom's house if he needs more food. Poor baby... Next month, I'm most likely going to Denver or Chicago or somewhere central like that for an HT meeting, AND possibly San Antonio for more site visit stuff. This is all in addition to the day-to-day work I've already been doing.

As for my truck... we were sitting on the loop in Conroe, at the first of four lights that consistently get very badly backed-up. The cars usually get so stacked up that when one light turns green, nobody can go, because there's 15 cars in front of them waiting on the next light, and 15 in front of them... and so forth until you get over the interstate bridge. We try to avoid it as much as possible, but it's the shortest way to church and the only way to Kohl's, Bed Bath & Beyond, and a couple other stores. Jason and I were on our way to Kohl's on this particular venture through the lights, and, like I said, at the first one. We were the second car in line when the light turned green, but nobody could go - although the truck in front of us did move up a little. He put on his brakes after a couple inches, Jason (who was driving) moved up and put on his brakes, but the woman in an SUV behind us swerved for a then-unknown reason and rear-ended us at approximately 25 mph, and we then hit the guy in front of us. Long story short - the guy in front only had a scratched bumper, but it was a brand new truck so he wasn't too happy. My truck needs a new front and rear bumper, tailgate, and some work on the lights in the back. The SUV is probably totaled - it just crumpled on impact, which I hear is what they do these days. The woman's official explanation was that her "flip flop slipped". Heh, heh. She admitted fault, so we shouldn't have to pay anything or have our insurance rates go up. Theoretically. Nobody was hurt; my neck hurts a little bit from tensing up as it happened and I had a minor headache last night, but that's been it. Needless to say, I'm none-too-happy about yet something else happening to my truck to take it away from me for a couple days, or longer. Bleck.

I need to go start packing... did I mention I have a 4 hour layover on the way up and a 3 hour layover on the way back? I'm bringing lots of books...