2 liters

My new record? I think? This morning I vowed to drink 2 liters of water before I left my hotel room so I could pack my nalgene away. So, in one and one half hours I did it. And now coffee.

Also, as I was writing this post I was eating what I thought was a sliced bit of apple, but it turns out it was actually a sliced bit of pear. It was a surprise, and 100% pleasant!

Tonight I come home!

I have to pee!!!

Will Makar

So there's this contestant on American Idol this year that reminds me of somebody, this spun me on a journey of figuring out who.

The contestant is Will Makar:



Any guesses?

Well, Paula tonight compared him to Bobby Brady.



could be, could be...what about Peter Brady though?



I guess, but there's something missing.

Have you figured it out yet???











Check it!



Fred Savage! Ahh, childhood. Good luck Will Makar, or should I say Fred Savage Jr???

Now listening to Dolly Parton's "9 to 5"

Did you know that I get down at work?

My new favorite itunes radio station is "Best of the '80s on Sky.fm"

Love shack, baby. Love shack.

The Dentist

Today I went to the dentist. And as I've known for months I have cavities. So I'm going back to the dentist in a few weeks for some major filling.

Besides that it was really exciting. Although I floss everyday, my gums seem to not be happy at all, so she helped me out a little with that, I think one and a half years of not having a formal cleaning is why that was happening. I hope to never not have dental insurance ever again.

The funniest moment was when she was looking in my mouth and when she saw the mangled inside of my left cheek she said "What is this? Do you bite your cheek?"

I nervously laughed and said "yeah...nervous tic...I should stop that."

On the way to work afterwards I thought about how I should stop doing that, but I found that at that moment I was biting the inside of my check.

Right now I'm biting at the inside of my cheek.

The more I do it the more I have to do it! I'm a cannibal!


Love,
Christine

Oswald Chambers

The Initiative Against Despair
"Rise, let us be going." - Matthew 26:46

The disciples went to sleep when they should have kept awake, and when they realized what they had done it produced despair. The sense of the irreparable is apt to make us despair, and we say -- "It is all up now, it is no use trying any more." If we imagine that this kind of despair is exceptional, we are mistaken, it is a very ordinary human experience. Whenever we realize that we have not done that which we had a magnificent opportunity of doing, then we are apt to sink into despair; and Jesus Christ comes and says -- "Sleep on now, that opportunity is lost forever, you cannot alter it, but arise and go to the next thing." Let the past sleep, but let it sleep on the bosom of Christ, and go out into the irresistible future with Him.

There are experiences like this in each of our lives. We are in despair, the despair that comes from actualities, and we cannot lift ourselves out of it. The disciples in this instance had done a downright unforgivable thing; they had gone to sleep instead of watching with Jesus, but He came with a spiritual initiative against their despair and said -- "Arise and do the next thing." If we are inspired of God, what is the next thing? To trust Him absolutely and to pray on the ground of His Redemption.

Never let the sense of failure corrupt your new action.

How to make your own cheaper and better popcorn

1) Pour Oil to cover the bottom of a pot

2) Pour in some popping corn kernels

3) Turn on the burner

4) Wait several minutes

5) Eat popcorn!

My week in Illinois.

I slept in the most luxuriously comfortable beds ever made for five nights. I watched the Olympics. I found out what my running pace is. I saw Firewall. I played Phase 10 with Hoops, Jenna, and Christinetwo. We hung out with Marciano, who managed to still be cute while he was crying. We went to Portillos and ate chili dogs. Hoops left. We went to a video store and rented three movies for 50 cents. We got coffee. We talked to Ally on the phone. We watched The Cutting Edge.



Loved it. We danced during the credits. We watched A Cinderella Story.



We danced during the credits. Jenna cut the Christines' hair. I made popped corn in a pan (it's so easy)! We watched A Cinderella Story again.

.

We danced during the credits. We slept. We went home.


Two quotes to remember:

"Me and my friend Teddy were disecting frogs..." - Hoops. He was interrupted by Christine's laughing. I asked if she was laughing because his name was Teddy. She was. We laughed more and pictured Hoops like hanging out with his friend Teddy which happens to be a little bear and he tells stories about their adventures.

"I feel like...this is just how I live now. This is where I live now." - Jenna

Excitement for Shaumberg!

So I pretty much can't even wait until I go to Shaumberg!

I wrote in my planner on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday "spa night" which, as I told Christine, means I am going to take a bath and read a book!

On Thursday it's "Spa Night/Conference Call."


So in addition to relaxing for a few days I've been planning on spending the following weekend with Christine in Plainfield.

But oh! This just in! Jenna's coming too!! Now if we can just convince Ally and Amber to make the trip the whole gang will be reunited!

An all office email

sent out by our human resources guru:

Hello Everyone

I am asking the person that put a six pack of Dr. Pepper in the storage room freezer to please come forward... There's been quite an explosion and subsequent mess in the freezer.

...there will be good karma in taking responsibility!!

Thank you. d.



It was pretty hilarious, then I remembered that this is my month to clean the fridge, then it got even MORE hilarious!

Oh no, my head!

So I was getting into my car earlier and SMACK! My head hit the top of the car door frame so hard that it actually BOUNCED off of it! I felt the targetted region of my forehead and felt I'd gained an immediate and sizeable bump.

I quickly flashbacked to the fourth of july when that hammock collapsed and its pole gave me a concussion - which turned into a hideous black eye. So, I guess I just hope I don't get a black eye...but at the same time wouldn't it be hilarious if I did??


Only time will tell.

Este día es la día

Siete veces al día te alabo por tus rectos juicios
- Salmo 119:164


Es la FTA tarea!

Diablo,

No digo esto porque esté necesitado, pues he aprendido a estar satisfecho en cualquier situación en que me encuentra (Filipenses 4:11)






!!!!!!

Freaks and Geeks

I'm watching an episode of Freaks and Geeks, and you'll just never guess who the biology/sex ed. teacher is played by.

Biff from Back to the Future!!

FTA Pictures

I've uploaded all my retreat pictures (gracias Sarah for taking so many) onto my yahoo photos page. Just click on the "My Pictures" link on the left to check 'em out!

Here are some of my favorites:

Speak no evil, see no evil, hear no evil

Here is everyone hanging out in the living room Saturday morning, fellowing

Steve as baby

Playing Alyssa's speed version of Scrabble!

This is probably my favorite picture, Jordan and Jim and Jess and Maggie and Will preparing the hole for Nicole

I like this picture because they're both like "wha," but in two different ways.

Nicole all rearin' to go

Nicole with Rachel and I

Jordan about to plunge

Nicole's Feet

Nicole just post-baptism!

This is Rachel and Nicole in their movie star pose

I like this picture a lot, it's like she's saying "I'm baptized!"

The Plungers (I think that Ben got a video of all of them jumping in so I can't wait to see it!)

Lee and Steve

Lee getting out of the water

Jim getting out of the water

Tian playing Sudoku

This is Will cutting the pie. The reason that I am posting it, however, is Jordan's face there.

All the Girls

FTA!!! (I'll crop it later...)

Who remembers...

....being in the computer lab in high school and discovering the greatest thing ever? I am of course talking about hamsterdance.com






The internet has come a long way.

itunes at work

There are three things I'd like to note in regards to my work itunes.

1) I never thought I could listen to a song 36 times and still not be sick of it. That song is Mayberry by Rascal Flatts. It is far and away my most played song, the second being Walking in Memphis by Lonestar with 5 plays.

2) Walking in Memphis is the best song ever, I'd heard it before of course and enjoyed it, but it wasn't until yesterday when I got the song on my work itunes that I realized that it is in fact the greatest song ever made.

3) Homestarrunner.com put 5 of the greatest strong bad emails EVER online as free downloads for ipod video. (I don't have ipod video, but they're really just downloadable videos). The ones they have available are the lil' brudder one, the trogdor one, the anime one, the techno song one, and of course the one with the kids book. Nicely selected, homestarrunner.com.



I think I'm going to make a playlist on itunes that has Mayberry and Walking in Memphis on it...maybe I'll throw in Mr. Mom too.

Video of Nicole's Baptism

Hey all,
Click on Tian's blog link and watch the video he took of Nicole's baptism!