Erin!

I love spontaneity. It's one of my most favorite characteristics in people. That is why I am so blessed to have the friends I do!

My great-fantabulous friend Erin decided to be way random and come out to A-town to hang with us this last weekend! She made the decision Thursday and flew out Friday. I love it! She's just one of those tight friends that when you're together awesome convo's, crazy randomness, and INTENSE laughter is ever present.

I love ya, Erin, and I am SO glad you decided to come hang with us!

Texas Lingo

I've been living in the great state of Texas for about 5 months now, and within that time span, I've observed some new lingo that you just don't here in California. Here are some examples of what I'm talking about:

Y'all
Sentence: "Y'all are a hoot!"
Now, this one everyone knows is used, but more commonly in the south and hardly ever on the west coast. I absolutely refuse to use this and make a conscious effort to never make a contraction out of the words "you" and "all" and will always resort to "you guys."

Fixin'
Sentence: "I'm fixin to get me some chaps."
This word isn't even recognized by Wiki so that right there just proves it's not legit. I've never heard this word used like that before I came out here. I don't even really know how to correctly translate it. I'm thinking it's along the lines of "planning" to...whatever. Here I've always thought that "fixing" something meant to mend what is broken...boy was I wrong.

Yankee
Sentence: "The yankee accent is hard to understand."
That was the actual sentence I first heard that word used in that sense before. I was with work buddies Jessica and Erin. =) As they continued talking, I'm thinking in my head, "I never noticed the baseball team ever having a strong accent before..." Yankee refers to, I'm guessing, those in the north-eastern region or specifically New Yorkers. Now I know.

The absence of "the"
Sentence: "Take Loop 1 south and get off at Braker."
In CA, with all our freeways that are numerical (which is all of them), we institute a "the" in front of the number. "You take the 91 to the 57 and get on the 22." Now, here in Texas, when we say something along the lines of, "We live off the 1" it's usually quickly followed by, "AHHHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"... Got it; lose the "the."

Glad it's over

I promised I wouldn't write anything about this election. I didn't want to vote at all. I had hardly any faith in either candidates to do what they promised. I was so tired of all the email forwards spewing smack on each candidate. I knew I had to vote. This was the first time I really sought God for guidance in political matters. I did some research and for me, it came down to what does the Bible say about some of these matters that each Presidential candidate stands for. I voted based on that and not the person.

I came across this post from the Between Two Worlds blog. The author's words seem to come straight from my heart and mind in regards to the dilemma of this election. Of course, I'm not black and he is, but it was a dilemma for me anyways. But he goes even beyond that and I just love how he ends the article.

Please read this post by Eric Redmond titled "Living Soli Deo Gloria Under Obama."

My hope and prayer for us as Christians is that we don't put all our faith and hope in one man to change our nation but that we stand up and BE the change in this world. All glory to HIM!

little brother

I love my "little" brother! Growing up 6 years apart Andrew and I had our fights just like normal siblings; I was put in charge of babysitting him and he thought he didn't have to listen to me. He aggravated me!

After I graduated high school and came back from living in Japan, our relationship grew to be a lot closer. He wasn't the annoying younger brother and I wasn't the nagging older sister anymore. We have the same exact humor, we love to collaborate on the best ways to embarrass our mother, and we have the ability to make each other laugh the hardest.

Andrew is in the Coast Guard and is serving in Iraq right now. I know, what is the coast guard doing over seas? They're supposed to be guarding our coast; not other coasts. When I first heard that he would for sure be going over, of course I was filled with anxiety and worry. Not my little brother. Sidenote: If you're the oldest child, you may understand this feeling of having to protect and worry for the safety of your younger sibling(s). You feel like they are your responsibility ... and apparently you feel that your parents are your responsibility also. He has been able to call a few times since he's been over there so it's been awesome to know that he is okay and doing well. He will be back in the States in December and I'm so excited that we'll all be together as a family for Christmas!

If you guys think about it, I would love it if you could keep my brother in your prayers as he's serving!
-Pray that solid Jesus loving people will come into his life
-Pray for safety and protection over him
-Pray that he holds strong to God's love for him during the hard times

Love you, Andrew!

Owies

I made a yummy dish tonight for dinner. But this yummy dish didn't come without it's trials. I grated my thumb and then I proceed to burn my hand. It hurts...