The Comeback

Soooooo, has everybody gotten a good look at Sabrina????? I hope so, because the next time I feature a missing child on my blog, I expect results. Results, people! Find those missing children!

Also, in case any of you were wondering, Sabrina is my friend's daughter. That's why I left her up for so long. Not because I was neglecting my website. No.

Movingon.org, in honor of the new movie Rocky VI, I, too, am making a comeback (Tim, is that enough commas? Because, I, too, can add some more). This post is getting a little random, so I'm going to come into focus here and write a few related statements.


Jose and I are staying in town for Christmas this year. Basically, because he has to work and I don't have any vacation left anyway. So I plan on gathering up everybody else that I know that is staying here for Christmas weekend and have a nice cozy get-together at my cozy apartment. We can play Parcheesi and microwave chestnuts! Yay! Yellow army! (Martin, that hyperlink is for you)


Another thing that I want tell you about is the athlete's foot that I got last week. My friend gave it to me for Christmas. Oh, it's not what you think. I don't have crusty, yellow, stinky toes. I got an athlete's foot fungus magnified one million times its actual size and made into a plush doll, as modeled here by Olive.

She loves her athlete's foot. Can't you see it in her face? Isn't it cute? My friend, Jessica, gave it to me. She gave other people various and sundry diseases as well. I felt special.


Now, I'm going to tell you something that may make you uncomfortable. Every time I mention the subject to people they act strange and start either laughing or looking around nervously or both. It may sound sad, that's because it is sad, but I want you to know before I write it that I'm okay.

Here it is: last Wednesday was the 1 year anniversary of my brother, Dennis's, death. Most of my friends know that he died and most know how he died, and I don't want to write about it now because it's long and depressing. Maybe someday I'll tell the story, but for now, I just want to honor him by saying that he is greatly missed by his family and we wish he were here with us for Christmas 2006. I know that he is in heaven with Jesus and that God has given him a good, long lecture and now he's chillaxin' with Adam, Eve, Mammy and Pappy and Johnny Cash and co. I still wish he were here though. Here is a photo of him just 2 days before he died:

Amazing isn't it? He was alive and just two days later he was not. I can still hardly believe it.

Esta niña se llama Sabrina Allen-This girl is named Sabrina Allen

Hoy quiero destacar la historia de una niña que se llama Sabrina Allen. Su madre la sequestró en el año 2002. Se cree que están en México. La siguiente foto es una aproximación a cómo parece hoy en día al lado de una foto de como era antes del sequestro.

Today I want to highlight a story about a little girl named Sabrina. She was abducted by her non-custodial mother on April 21, 2002. They have been spotted in Mexico. The following picture is an "artist's rendition" of what she may look like now along with a picture of her before she was abducted.

This is Dara. She is the abductor.

Esta mujer es Dara. Ella es la sequestradora.

La historia es tan trágica como es verdadera. La madre ha sido diagnosticada con problemas mentales. Ésta es una de las razones por qué el padre tenga custodia. Dara llevó a Sabrina muy lejos de su familia y sólo Dios sabe lo que Sabrina ha experimentado durante los últimos 4 años. Han estado corriendo y escondiendose todo este tiempo y su padre ni sabe si Sabrina está asistiendo la escuela.

The story is as tragic as it is true. The mother has been diagnosed with mental problems. This is one of the reasons that the father has custody of Sabrina. Dara has taken Sabrina far away from her family and only God knows what Sabrina has gone through in the last 4 years. They have been on the run all of this time and they aren't even sure if Sabrina has been in school.

La foto de Sabrina arriba fue sacada cuando las encontraron en México D. F. en 2003. La madre le había cortado y teñido el pelo de Sabrina. Estaba registrada con un nombre falso. Se evitó captura y no han podido llegar tan cerca otra vez.

The above photo is was taken when the FBI found them in Mexico City in 2003. The mother had cut and dyed Sabrina's hair. She was registered by a false name. Theye escaped capture and the authorities haven't been able to get as close again.

Aquí está su página web.

Por favor, ve a esta página. Tiene muchísima más información.

Here is her website. Please, go visit this website. It contains much more information.

Please, if you have seen either Dara or Sabrina, contact the investigators at: Investigator Philip Klein: 409-729-8798 x10

or email: info@FindSabrina.org

Por favor, si has visto a Dara o a Sabrina, contacta con los investiagdores: Investigator Philip Klein: 409-729-8798 x10

o manda un email a: info@FindSabrina.org

Anti-Christian Propaganda

I found this article about a photography project today and I was intrigued and angered by it at the same time. It totally skews Christianity into something that only ignorant people believe. The author intentionally mixes facts with his own negative opinion to make Christians sound stupid. I know, why read it? Well, I think that it shows what people will brainwash themselves into believing in order to ignore God's truth.

Something positive does shine through about how God loves everyone and desires for us to know Him, despite our differences, faults and failures.

Notice that towards the end the photographer who was interviewed says that the people that he met were so nice and they believed so strongly that he actually considered the possibility that they were right and he was wrong. That is because the the Holy Spirit that lives in Believers is so compelling.

This whole thing reminds me of something I read before:

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.” So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength. Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God. God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”

(from 1 Corinthians)

Beautiful.


By the way, I looked up Mars Hill Church. It looks like a great church. It is badly misrepresented in this article.

It's a Small World, Literally

Hi guys. I know I haven't been writing. I know. Since I can't seem to find time to write a good post, I will leave you with this awesome picture. It's from this website called Astronomy Picture of the Day. The photo that you are looking at is from October 16, 2006.

Breathtaking isn't it? As you can see, it is of Saturn. If you click on the photo, it will take you to the website where you can see a bigger version and read about it. And just to peak your interest, Earth is somewhere in this photo.

I feel so small in the universe when I see how tiny the earth is. It really puts things into perspective.

This is what Carl Sagan had to say when he saw another photo of a tiny Earth:

"We succeeded in taking that picture [from deep space], and if you look at it, you see a dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there - on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors, so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light.
Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand. It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known."

Of course, I don't agree with Sagan that, "In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves."

There is more than a hint that help will come!

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1

There is someone who came to save us from ourselves!

"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." This saying is true, and it can be trusted. 1 Timothy 1:15a

Thank God for Jesus!

the universal translator

Why is it that in all the movies that are set in "ancient times" or even just "olden times" the actors all have a British accent?

Rule of Thumb

When a friend tells you that you did a bad job of painting your nails, but you actually did a great job and she is mistaking your hangnails and dried up, crusty cuticles for stray polish, then your nail polish is an ugly color.

More party, less boring videos

This is what Tim posted. We sat there for about an hour skipping rocks. It's more fun in real life. Seriously.

Movingon.org...more party pics!

Cornhole is a spectator sport.

Except for Tim, he's looking for buzzards to catch and pet.

These are the "berries" that I tried to get both Tim and Jada to eat. I was unsuccessful with Tim, but Jada ate one. They are really what are known as Pequin peppers. They are "very hot, often 7-8 times hotter than jalapeños." That's from Wikipedia. It must be true. Anyway, they taste like ...burning!

Scary!

I touch you...you touch me! (wasn't that a song or something?) Anyhoo, Tim touches Bowen, Bowen is weirded out.

Tori farts and Jada doesn't like it.

J/K! Tori didn't fart, she is just saying something 11ish.

Second Birthday Parties Rock!

I feel like a hobbit. They eat second breakfast, well, I had a second birthday. My sister-in-law, Amber, turns 30 on Thursday. So Susan decided to throw us a double b-day par-tay in Belton. IWSF!

The CAKE. Yum!

Cornhole, of course. My family is officially addicted.

Tim and Jada, chillaxin' on the patio.

I'm happy because I get more presents. Amber's just happy.

No comment.

Totally and Completely Robbed From Cuteoverload.com

He's all, "This is MA sucka!"

It's just so cute!!!

My Most Embarrassing Moment™

Tonight I want to respond to the embarrassing moment question posed by Jada Bobayda. More specifically, in a post named "Not a Naked Statue" and unofficially in "Condom Talk at Work" in which she relates yet another embarrassing moment. I thought I had embarrassing moments! That girl is a veritable embarrassing moment factory! Just kidding Jada. It's not that bad, really. It's not. No, seriously.

Ok, people. I'm going to tell you the story of My Most Embarrassing Moment™. Here it is, in all it's glory.

Here goes: ...

This is it: ...

Thar she blows:.....

&c: .........

...ok, now that I've psyched myself up with a few Ligers:

It happened when I was in high school nary 11 years past. Actually, I was a Freshman, so that makes it about 15 years past (OMG, I'm getting so old). It all happened in basketball. It was a game day (a Friday), so we were just going to go out on the court and do some light drills. The school worker people had pulled out the bleachers and there were a few guys (not just any guys, the cool guys) from my class sitting in them, watching us.

Well, I was a pretty good player. I had skills. So, I was going up and down the court, doing my layups, blockin' people out, lookin' good. As I finished exhibiting my awesomeness and made my way to the end of the line, I started to notice that a few of the Seniors were pointing at my derriere region and snickering. One Senior girl in particular, Celeste, who, btw, was known to be a "mean girl" type, was pointing and laughing in a "mean girl" kind of way (meaning in a loud and malevolent fashion).

At that moment, one of the female coaches swept up beside me, put her arm around my shoulders, and while whisking me away said, "Sara, we need to go to the locker room."

We entered the locker room and she said, "Sara, look at your shorts." I looked down at my shorts and realized for the first time that half of them were missing. A large swath of cloth from the crotchal area all the way across the right butt cheek just wasn't there anymore. The entire right half of my backside was feeling the gentle breeze of freedom, so to speak. While I was making my awesome layups, everyone in the entire gymnasium was checking out my underoos.

Apparently, this is what had happened. It's totally and completely random, but here it is. My dog, Gretchen, was preggers and she had taken to eating all the weird stuff that she could find (you know how those pregnant women are...). Since I didn't wash my gym shorts every day, well, she must have liked the smell of sweaty gym shorts and decided to make an afternoon snack of them. Of course, she only ate the best part. I'm not going to explain in any more detail.

That afternoon, when I had first put on my shorts, I didn't notice a dad burn thing. Our gym shorts were kind of flowy and baggy, so they always felt a little breezy anyway.

Well, my coach gave me a new pair of shorts and I walked back out there like nothing had happened. That, my friends, is the secret to overcoming embarrassing moments. Act like everything is totally under control.

My friend, Aubony, was present when the incident occurred. We didn't really know each other at the time and she says that she remembers that I came back to practice acting like I had just gone to the bathroom or something. I remember feeling mortified, but I wasn't going to show it. That way, Senior Celeste couldn't laugh at me.

FRENSHIP TIGERS! YAY!

Brow Bone Woe

UPDATE: Here is a picture of my eye. I can see the headline now:

Bruised By A Toddler!

P.S. Check out the awesome eyebrow plucking job. Now that's what I like to call a good-lookin' eyebrow.

Remember how I said that a 3-year-old headbutted me on a trampoline? Well, I now have the makings of a faint but distinct black eye. Seriously. That kid has a hard noggin.

OMG People!

I can't believe that it has been so long since I wrote even one measly post. All of this time and what do I have to show for it? I guess I'll have to do an almost-2-week-round-up special.


Okay, so when we left our intrepid heroine she had just learnt a life-lesson. So, this is what happened next:

I can't remember, let me think about it...

...ohh-kaay, now I remember. We played a soccer game. On Saturday, at 8 o'clock in the morning (dood). We won, btw. In the evening, we went to Tim's indulged in a little "Speed Scrabble-ation" as we are wont to do. Followed by a piquant game of "Pictionary."

Oh, and then, on Sunday we went to church as per usual. Hope Chapel, even, where we heard an insightful sermon on the importance of community. That evening, we went to the home of a Turkish couple. They are observing the fast of the Islamic month of Ramadan (Ramazan in Turkish). They had invited us over to break their daily fast with them. The wife is a good friend of mine. She is always inviting me over for tea. Actually, it started out because I said that I would help her with her English conversation, but we really just like to hang out and talk. Which helps her English conversation, but still. Here is a picture of us together:

If it looks like I am enveloping her, it's because I am. I'm huge. Check this one out:

Total and complete envelopment. She even has a look on her face that says, "Ehn! Stop ENVELOPING me!" Although, she's trying to hide it behind that smile.

...hey, whoa Nelly. Hold the phone. Latter picture reminds me of something. I forgot to post about my birthday par-tay. We sang us some mean karaoke, let me tell you (Aubony and Joe were missed while they were off gallivanting and GETTING MARRIED in Jamaica).

Here are some cool pics of the fated night in question:

Me. Singing who knows what. Being eaten by the giant karaoke machine monitor.

Jada. Being her usual dramatic self. Singing Glory of Love, you know, from Karate Kid III. I loved that song as a wee lass. I'm glad she sang it.

My cousin, Bowen. Singing some song by Metallica or Judas Priest. Also being eaten by the monitor. Jennifer in the foreground, apparently falling asleep (only momentarily as you will see).

Here's Jada again. Eating a monstrous (literally, ha!) cupcake.

Moi. Jada. Jennifer, who was totally woked up by then (photo [and good grammar] courtesy of Tim Stewart).

GUESS WHAT??!!

LIGERS! THAT'S WHAT!

Here is a special comparison of last year's karaoke pose to this year's karaoke pose. They look about the same to me. Just different clothes. White shirt: last year. Brown shirt: this year. As you can see in the first picture, there are no words on the screen behind me. I'm not really singing.

All right! There's a lot more to show and tell about the party, but we need to get back to the almost-2-week-round-up special:

Where was I? Hmmm. Let's see now...okay. Oh, we left off at the Ramadan dinner. It was v. good. My friend is so sweet. She always sends me home with food. It reminds me of a sweet old aunt or something, but she's not even as old as me.

Moving on. Last week was pretty uneventful. This weekend, though, we had another soccer game on Saturday afternoon, which we lost. The captain of our team broke his big toe to boot. It sucked. I thought that I played my worst game evar. My team is very encouraging though. They said that I did ok. However, I found out something even worse right after that game. Tim took pictures and I look so fat in my soccer uniform! It is very unflattering. Oh, the humanity!

Well, now that THAT'S out in the open, we'll move on to Saturday night. Should I mention Saturday night? This post is getting really long-winded. There's so much to catch up on! I know, it's my own fault for not posting in all this time... Well all that happened on Saturday night was that I went to a fun party in which I made S'mores and was attacked and subsequently head-butted on a trampoline by a three-year-old who didn't even notice, while I, on the other hand, was writhing in pain. My brow bone still hurts.

On Sunday we played Mojokickball. My team won. Yay!

Tonight: (Finally! She's nearing the end!) I got to see my cool cousin, brother of Bowen, my favorite Idiot Out Walking Around: WADE!

That's him, on the left. Bowen's on the right. He's here visiting from Iowa. All night I was telling him that he needs to move down to Austin.

Okay, people. That's it. I'll post more frequently so that things don't get so backed up. I know, you bloggers say to pick one topic and write about it. I picked a topic, it's called my life, so deal.

Oh, I forgot to say, Tim called me at 5:20 this morning (I was asleep, imagine that) to tell me that he couldn't give me a ride to work today. It was a very surreal, and short, conversation. All confusing and informative at the same time. It was almost like a dream.

in which I feel stupid

So this is what happened. Last night. We practiced soccer. Then we went to have a little bubble drinkage. In initial attendance were Jada, Mark, and I. Mark drove us to the bubble drink location. Jose showed up a little later. We had a good time talking about traveling to Paris. We even had a pleasant conversation in Spanish about the comparative size of a triangle and a rectangle. Very interesting.

Fast forward to leaving bubble drink place. Jada and I are riding with Jose and Mark is going straight home. While we are still in the parking lot, Mark pulls up beside us and shows us a small something. It is Jada's keys. She had left them in his car. He says, "Now, that would have been bad!" We are all in hearty agreement. Then he says, "Do we need to take a second for everybody to make sure that they have everything out of my car???" We decline the offer. I am laughing because I think, "Ha, ha! Jada left her keys! She's so forgetful! I never do anything like that! I always know where my stuff is! Ha!" I even say to Jada, "I think that he was referring to you when he said that." And she says, "Yeah. Probably." As we drive off, I feel all the confidence of a person who has it together.

Fast forward to when we are in the parking lot of our apartments. I am getting my stuff out of Jada's car (which I was riding in earlier) and I say, "Fiddlesticks! I left my purse in Mark's car."

That, my friends, is what you call getting your just deserts. My arrogance has brought me low.

We had to go all the way to Mark's house and pick up my purse.

Next time, I'm checking the car for my stuff. And no more making fun of people who forget their keys.

Lesson learned.

Fave Website Showcase: Homestarrunner.com

[Props to Aubony, this is one of her favorite websites and she told me how awesome it is!]


Ok y'all, do any of you remember those nerdy guys in high school that had the most random sense of humor, but at the same time, were so extremely, exaggeratedly funny? Well, those guys have grown up and made a cartoon, and it's name is homestarrunner.com.

It's a collection of Flash cartoons, etc. involving Homestar Runner and his cohorts, and I have to say, it is so very entertaining. And cute. It's supposed to be for kids, but to heck with that, Homestar rocks! I love the way he talks. (He don't wear no socks! His favorite food is lox!)

First, make sure you click on the little circle that says "first time here?" and watch the short introduction. Then check the "Strong Bad email," in which Strong Bad answers actual emails. You can even write him if you want. And then, of course, watch the cartoons.

Ok, now that you have your itinerary, get going!

V. v. v. busy

Give me a little break, Jose! and Thad! I have been busy all week. It was my birthday week and, let me tell you, it was WILD! and CRAZY! I'll post about it later, but right now I will say that last night I went to Barnes and Noble because I got a gift card and I wanted to make use of it. Here are two titles that I came across in the World History section whilst seeking a book on Turkish history (which I did not find):

The Not So Little Book of Dung

Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World

Yes, these are real titles. And, I might add, there were multiple copies of each. I'm not just talking about two, either. I mean there were like a dozen each. Oh, and while I was browsing in the European History section, I came across The Basque History of the World: The Story of a Nation, which doesn't have a weird title or subject, the only point of interest being that it was written by the same guy who wrote Cod and there was a line on the back cover proclaiming, "Like his celebrated Cod..."

I guess that a biography of the fish that changed the world must be a real gem. I mean, it was celebrated.

It sounds pretty boring to me, but if you like that, check out Salt: A World History, same author.

That dung book had better be good too, but I don't know how it could top the History of Farts.

30 is the new 10

Today is my birthday! Yes, today I turn 30 years old.

If 40 is the new 20, then I guess 30 is the new 10. Oh, yeah.

U-tube Funny

Okay. So I went beta. I went beta on Blogger. I thought it would be a good thing and for the most part, it has been. However, I wanted to post a video from a couple of youtuber guys that are so freaking hilarious.

But I can't because I went beta. So to alleviate my woes, I'll post some linkarooneys in a minute.

I guess I should now let you in on a little secret about myself. I'm actually a little bit of a youtube junky. Believe me, there are probably (literally) a million more people out there who are a lot worse off than me, but I do like to follow a few of the youtube crazies.

There's the drama of lonelygirl15. Is it real? Is it fake? For a little while it was a big Internet mystery. I even liked her so much that I put a video of hers on my blog. Well, now we know people. They have been exposed of as complete fakes. Now, watching the latest video is just a big let down. When you know that they are acting, it's just so bad. As in, the acting is bad. I'm still going to watch to find out what happens, though.

Then there's thewinekone, he's preeeetty funny. And he's real.

Then there's paytotheorderofofof, she's a little boring and long winded, but I still watch her videos.

Lastly, there is BaratsAndBereta. These guys are so funny! They do skits and jokes.

So go to youtube. Live a little. Laugh a little. Love a little (or just gag me with a spoon).

Pieces of eight!

Today (ok, yesterday. it's late) is talk like a pirate day. In honor of this day I am posting a picture of me as a pirate and a few other piratey friends. I must say, I make a great pirate! I made the same scowl in all the pictures. Check it out:




I just finished listening to Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson from Librivox. It was awesome. All the readers really get into the piratey dialogue.

Shiver my timbers! Davy Jones' locker! Avast, there!

This is who I am

This is how Tim Stewart (known alternatively on this blog as "Thad") of timstewartsblog.blogspot.com describes our other blogging friends' blogs:

David's blog — Hope Chapel's arts pastor David Taylor blogs profoundly on all things Christian and aesthetic
Jada's blog — Jada possesses the rare (and coveted) writerly ability to write so you feel as though you're reading her mind
Jennifer's blog — Jennifer examines a variety of topics with intelligence and verve, and she posts lots of photos too
Melanie's blog — Melanie draws back the curtains of her heart and shares (bares?) her soul

Here is how he describes my blog:

Sara's blog — Sara ponders the why of what is and regularly photographs her feet and her cat, Olive

Man, that's all I get? "She posts pictures of her feet"?

Not "she's funny"? Not "she's insightful"? Not "she's poignant"? Do I need take some writing classes or something?

It's a good thing that I like my own blog*.

*See words under title of blog for accurate description.

Critics...what can you do with them?

Kick 'em in the rear end, that's what.

So, I've gotten a little criticism from my friends and fellow collaborators on ideas for mixed drinks. They said that I came home last night and blogged too fast about the Liger. Someone, even said I was "moblogging".

I don't know what that means.

Okay, so maybe I did get home and write a post really fast. I just live down the street. I got home in 5 minutes and I was excited. What can I say?

Next time we make up a fictional drink called the Tigon or the Mule or the Hinny, one of you people can post about it, ok? Now does that make you guys feel better? Hug? Hug?

I'm going to go and look at my feet now.

Ok, a real liger picture

Straight off the Internet.

The Liger

At my small group Bible study tonight, we thought up a new mixed drink. We think that it will be a great success.

It contains ginger ale, rum (maybe coconut rum, we don't know yet), and a splash of half 'n half, over ice, in a low ball glass.

We call it The Liger.

Yes, that is one of the special things we do at a serious Bible study. We study the Bible and think up mixed drinks. Well, maybe not so much thinking up of mixed drinks. That's the first one that we've ever collaborated on.

We haven't tried it yet. I'll get back to you on how it actually tastes. I know, we're dorks. It rubs off on me from Tim and Jada.

I'm actually totally cool.

P.S. How about this liger???

Strange Encounters III

Here is my last post about bathroom encounters. Jose said that when he came here to the US he was surprised at the ease of which men in the public restrooms do their noisy bidness. He said that it sometimes gets extremely loud in the restroom. He said that in Spain this kind of thing just doesn't happen (never mind the one time that he walked into the public restroom at the mall and a guy was in the middle of exposing and touching himself in a vigorous manner. That only happened once, and that guy was definitely crazy).

However, he told me that the other day he was in the bathroom at his job and when he had finished, he was leaving the restroom and, looking to his left, there was a guy sitting on the toilet with the stall door open, just out there for the world to see. He didn't care.

That's really gross. Don't you people have any sense of privacy?

Strange Encounters II: The Private Bathroom

Now, I'm not one to talk about the office too much because of what happened to dooce. She got fired because of her blog (as if you didn't know that already). Anyway, I am keeping things VERY generic around here, plus I don't like to say mean things about anyone (please forgive me, you know who you are, for saying that you were metrosexual just because you use anti-aging cream...that was mean of me).

That said, I am continuing my investigative report.

In addition to the regular public restrooms, at my office we have what is known as (or more specifically, what I call) the "private bathroom." You know, just one toilet and sink. There is one for gentlemen and one for ladies. I guess the architect felt that the awkwardness of public restrooms in those special times necessitated a place where people can go to have a little moment to themselves.

The only problem with that is that everyone else also knows why someone visits the private bathroom. Therefore, no one wants anyone to see them go in.

So this is the standard approach procedure...in a flow chart:





This has been my report. In depth and informative.

Strange Encounters I

I have two words for you: Public. Restrooms. Especially the ones at work. Does anyone else think that they make for the weirdest experiences? I mean, it's one thing to pee (and whatever else...) in a public restroom at the mall or Target, where you will never see those people again, but it's a whole other thing when you're in the restroom at work and you're doing it within earshot of people that you see everyday. Particularly those people who you don't really know that well. You may or may not know each other's names, but there you are, day in and day out, hearing each other's intimate moments.

I don't know about guys (my husband tells me that they [meaning American men, because in Spain this kind of thing just doesn't happen...]) have no qualms about making any untoward sounds in public, but we women hate to have anyone hear any kind of noise other than the name of the purple teletubbie, if you know what I mean.

Let me tell you a story. One day I was in said public restroom. As I was washing my hands, I was having a little conversation with my friend and co-worker. One stall was occupied, but otherwise we were alone. As I washed my hands, my friend was talking away, really into what she was saying. Now, I can't remember what it was that she was saying. That's because right when she was in the thick of an important point, the person in the stall (I don't know who) let out a really loud fart. It was very long and staccato-y. My friend tried to continue speaking right through the loudness, but we were both distracted from what she was saying and, at the same time, trying to ignore the fart. I could tell that my friend was distracted because she kept pausing and shifting her eyes. My lips were pinched shut and quivering. I was trying as hard as I could not to let out a loud guffaw. I didn't want to be rude to the farter by laughing. (Plus, I didn't want my co-worker to know that I think farts are funny.) By the time I was drying my hands, my friend had gotten it together and was continuing her important point. We walked out of the restroom together, leaving the farting lady to herself. It was all very awkward.

And now, all I have to say in conclusion is that the very same thing happened to me in the same restroom (long before above incident). The only exceptions being that there was just one other person there to hear my loudness, and that I know exactly who she is and she knows exactly who I am. Every time I see her in the halls I wonder if she thinks of me as the loud-farting girl from the bathroom.

Now THAT is awkward.

Tower photos

The tower from below

The observation deck is right below the clocks.

Some of the many bullet holes filled in with plaster

The staircase to infinity

Theoretically, you can see all the way down to the first floor. It makes me dizzy just thinking about it.

Amber and Jose enjoy the view

Looking South towards downtown Austin

Isamu Taniguchi Oriental Garden

Since I'm retarded and I can't figure out why I can't upload more than 5 pictures per post, here are the pics from the Zilker Botanical Gardens.

The HUGE koi.

HUGE koi: The Sequel