Gobble Gobble

So, in between the last post and this one, I tried TWICE to do a mobile blog post... obviously neither of those panned out. Ah well. Maybe someday I will figure it out.

Tonight I had my first of four Thanksgivings this year. At work we had a potluck and it was yummy. I gave thanks for being able to eat a free meal that wasn't McDonald's food. Thursday I have a potluck for the Student Social Work Association, and Friday we're getting our Oxford group together to celebrate (2nd Annual Oxford Thanksgiving). And, of course, there's the real Thanksgiving holiday, which I am privileged to be spending with Rebekah's family. :)

I went to the British Shoppe yesterday! It was incredible... real imported goods from the U.K. I called Rebekah and left a message, because I was staring at IRN-BRU, Ribena, Digestives, Hob Nobs, Walkers crisps, and real Cadbury candy. I just wanted to make her jealous. Too bad I have no idea if it had its intended effect. I've only seen her for about 2 minutes since then!

Sadly, Rebekah has about 4 huge assignments/projects due this week, all of which are a sizable portion of the final grade in each class. I can't imagine what that must feel like, but I know I'd be stressing too.

After much debate in the household, we decided that we would decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving, since we only have two weeks in Abilene after it. What do we have to show for it? Absolutely nothing. haha. We're so awesome. I love us.

Favorite semi-recent quote:

"I don't actually want to be a boy."

- Rebekah

We're Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo

I’m proud to announce that JoAnna and I now have a very special friend: Havar. That’s right, we made it too the zoo today! It’s about time, since we’ve been planning this trip since February or so. Anna, JoAnna and I finally went to the Abilene Zoo to meet the white tiger. Unfortunately, Havar quickly noticed that we hadn’t made t-shirts of him and was very disappointed with us. In fact, he mostly just stared us down or pointedly ignored us.


Yep, folks. There he is.

The giraffes and bears were fun and we fed them some yummy crackers. We know they were yummy because we tested them out just to make sure. The poor female lion was spurned by her man, so that was kind of sad. Oh yeah, and I won a stare-down with a cobra, so you better watch out.

See, we really did test out the crackers.

After tons of fun at the zoo, we had lunch at Sharky’s. Tragically, I threw half of my burrito away. This was going to be my dinner, and Jo happened to think it was absolutely hilarious. She really does just like to laugh at me.

Our activities this week included visualization exercises. They are a lot of fun and very relaxing. JoAnna visualized the person she will end up with: a medium-armed dark-haired gentleman with brown shoes. It worked too, cause within minutes he showed up. Unfortunately she didn’t get his name, so if you fit that description, please come forward and identify yourself.

We’ve both taken up watching Flashforward, and we try to watch it together when possible. However, last week we had to watch it separately, but were both overjoyed when “Charlie” showed up at the end of the episode (well, that’s not his name in this show, but I don’t think that’s really important).

I had a crazy dream the other night and wrote down some key words, so that I would remember it. Now all I have is some strange words that don’t make much sense: museum, trumpet, tornado, walking, cheese sticks. Now I really want to know what that dream was about!

I'll leave you with a lovely quote from JoAnna:

"You look cuddly. I just want to lay down on you."

Midterm

This just in:

There is a new store in the Abilene Mall. At 4 PM on Thursday, October 29, The British Shoppe will be celebrating its grand opening. It sells imported food and gifts from the UK! How awesome is that? Right here in little o' Abilene, Texas, where I would have least expected it... But of course, this makes Rebekah and me very pleased. We may even go to the ribbon cutting ceremony and listen to Abilene's own bagpipers (who knew?)... and possibly win something at the giveaways. Not to mention free samples... Click here to learn more.

Also of note, this past week Rebekah helped me with a video I had to record for my direct practice (social work) class. I was supposed to be demonstrating confidentiality and other contractual notices and different levels of empathy, and she was my client. I don't know how well I did, but I can say that it was funny because the scenario I made up actually described Rebekah during freshman year, apparently... I'm glad she has friends now.

A Knight's Tale

So, just to affirm Rebekah's statement that she and I need to hang out more - I couldn't agree more! We did have some time last night (an hour and a half...) when we were supposed to be doing homework but ended up talking and Wikipedia-ing (just like old times). Really now, are we not the only ones to wonder what Mick Jagger and Elton John ever did to receive knighthood? I understand Bono becoming a "Sir," but really - why is everyone receiving honorary titles? Rebekah and I got into researching the people who have become knights, and I wanted to know if women could be knighted as well. Turns out, they are labeled "Dames" (not very pleasant to the ear, if you ask me). Also, if you are a female married to a man who is knighted, you get the title of "Lady." I have decided that I want to either become a "Sir" or just marry a knight so that I can be a "Lady." I still think that "Sir JoAnna" sounds cooler though. So it's like... Sir Bono, Sir Spielberg, Sir JoAnna... cool, huh? (Actually, in order to have a Sir or Dame title I would need to be either British or a citizen of the Commonwealth... so I'll have to get a move-on on that.) [An incomplete list of honorary British Knights]

Fortunately, Rebekah and I get to spend Monday, Wednesday, and Friday chapels and lunches together. Today while we were sitting on the bench in the Hall of Servants that we usually sit on, she tells me to move because she has to lie down and there isn't enough room with me on there. I tell her that I won't move, as she proceeds to lay her head on my lap. Then, I proceed to bop her on the head with my social policy textbook (this is NOT a light book, folks). Anyway, all this to say... she misses me and loves me a lot. :)

Also today at lunch we discussed how history will be preserved if technology keeps advancing. For example, floppy disks are basically obsolete because many computers aren't even capable of reading them anymore. And since we don't want to kill any more trees in the name of being green and saving the planet (which I like, because the tree is one of my favorite creations in the whole world), we won't be printing or writing everything out. Will we just forget everything that is happening? I think maybe we will have to revert to the storytelling of the oral tradition. That would be fun.

Mission Accomplished

Jo finally watched The Office. It's about time! Anna and I have been trying to get her to watch this show for ages. And now, finally, she is hooked. Mission accomplished.

Here at our our house, we all are just now getting over various illnesses. Because of this I have literally been holed up in my room all week. Jo says this isn't all that different from normal. That may be true as the week before there was a day when I didn't see Jo at all.

JoAnna now has her dream job; she's working at McDonald's. And she really has been hoping for this job for a while now. I'll have to go order a McFlurry from her sometime. The sad news, is that she now has to miss our Disney movie nights.

We all enjoy cooking together in the kitchen. It reminds us of our kitchen-time in Oxford.Jo made brownies the other day and left the kitchen with adamant demands that Alyssa and I not touch them. She'll never know whether I put my fingers in the brownies or not.

I still have to suffer the laughs of JoAnna. We can rarely study in the same room, because one of us will laugh sooner or later. Normally sooner. Recently she was laughing at the way the light was shining on my face. I know, hilarious, right?

Autumn has finally decided to show up. I guess it had really good timing, since Tuesday was officially the first day of fall. It's been down in the fifties and we've had lots of beautiful rain.

I guess Jo and I need to hang out more. We need more material for this blog.

A Tune

I just want to say that I find it extremely amusing that Rebekah whistles as she studies. I am in the living room right now about to start a paper and she is in her room down the hall with her door open reading Tolkien (for a class). She is whistling a tune, but I'm not sure that it is actually a song.

In other news, it rained in Abilene for about four days, bringing along with it lots of fond memories of Oxford - especially being in the kitchen, doing homework, and drinking tea. Today it was even cool enough in the morning to wear a light jacket! That's a step forward for Abilene.

Bogged down with homework, all of us. Blergh.

Autumn, come quickly.

So, we have yet to have a "roommate/housemate night" which is severely disappointing, since we are excited to get together and cook and eat and hang out. I feel like we are all almost always doing homework. We spend all of Saturdays (all two that we've had so far) studying.

Rebekah and I have found a couple weekend nights to stay up until 3 AM talking. Instead of talking in our room, which we no longer share, we do it in the living room. Her mom found a loveseat at a garage sale, and it is SO comfortable. I definitely spend a lot more time in the living room now because of it. She also found us a table and chairs for our kitchen. We had one already for the dining area, but it's nice to also have something in our kitchen so that we don't have to keep going in and out to sit during the lapses in cooking.

We began respecting once again our Saturday night tradition with Anna at The Den. Unfortunately, since I am no longer on a meal plan, I must use Bean Bucks... so in order to get only a frou-frou drink I must pay over $3. Good thing that Pumpkin Latte was yummy. Funny thing - I think we're closer to The Den now that we're off campus than we were when we actually lived on campus. Because Sikes is on the farthest edge of the world.

I'm excited because I have a few brown bananas... which can only mean one thing: BANANA BREAD! Pretty soon we will have delicious banana-y goodness... not that there hasn't been enough baking going on in the house already.

We are ready for cooler weather.

Helen, Gutterball, and the legendary Almond Creme (see 8/24/09 post)

Our Exciting Lives

We are now almost two weeks into the school year and I finally have a moment to sit down and write. It's crazy that it was only one year ago that we traveled the lovely Oxford and came home five months later as awesome friends.

What's also crazy is the stuff that goes on in our house. I'm not kidding. I live with very, very strange people. And yes, Jo tops that list. You should stop by our house sometime and visit. But be warned: you might catch us acting a little childish. Most of the time, Jo and I are holed up in our rooms labouring over homework. However, sometimes even I forget we're not all little kids. Take, for example, the following situations.

If you hear us singing "I'll Make a Man Out of You", it's because it is our new theme song. Our housemate Alyssa is in on that too.

We also like to stay up having dance parties. We enjoy dancing to anything, but we particularly enjoy Disney tunes. You should see our interpretive Mulan dance.

We periodically throw paper at one another. If you haven't tried it, you should. It is a fantastic way to waste time and avoid doing homework.

Jo and I like to sit for hours looking through pictures of our Oxford travels (once again in lieu of homework).

Jo likes to laugh at me for absolutely no reason. Honestly, I can't always figure out what in the world she is laughing at. On the same note, we still have fun with "Who can make a straight face first?" contests. Usually neither of us win.

Obviously our lives are very exciting.

P.S. Hopefully we'll have some good quotes soon. We need to hang out with our quote-supplier!

Reunited... and it feels so good

Rebekah and I are once again living together! We aren't roommates anymore, but we are housemates. It's all good - it still has the word "mate" in it, so I guess we can still call each other friends.

Our house is home to 5 girls. I'm already loving the fun atmosphere that last week demonstrated, but I'm kind of apprehensive about how it will be once classes are in full swing. When school starts, stresses rise, and there is less hang out time. Ah well. We will work it out.

We got a new pet! Rebekah finally got the horse she always wanted. Her name is Helen. She is ten inches tall, 9 inches long, and about 2 inches wide. She likes Tommyknocker Almond Creme and Gutterball, our pet elephant from last semester. They reside in a special niche in our hallway, right above the phone book, but Helen often leaves to go cuddle with me.

So! Here's to a new season of laughs, cries, cooking together, decorating, walking to school, paying rent and water and gas and electricity and internet bills...

Bear Terrorizes Neighborhood

In a little over a week, JoAnna and I will finally be together again! I'm sure everyone is anxiously anticipating the day when we once again post our adventures together. Other than that, I have very little news to write about. In light of that fact, I thought I'd just post a link to a little video that I found amusing. I don't know the full story on this video, but I do know that it is an actual news story.

Because I am technologically inept, I don't know how to post the actual video on this blog. Instead you'll just have to make do with clicking on this link here.

Lush

Joanna bought her plane tickets to Abilene several days ago. She texted me yesterday saying we have just one month before we get to hang out again. I actually dreamed last night that I forgot to pick her up from the airport. I just went to our house and she was there. Only then did I remember that I had been supposed to pick her up a couple of days before that. No one worry, though; this most certainly will not happen in August.

JoAnna told me she passed a Lush today in Boulder, CO. What a lovely reminder of our time in Oxford. We both would love to be strolling down Cornmarket right about now. Someday perhaps our dream to return to jolly old England together will come true.

I know this picture is old, but I thought I'd post it anyway. I can't wait to hang out with JoAnna while we fill ourselves up with caffeine. You should come by sometime and have a cuppa with us. By the way, notice the beautiful drawings behind us. We drew them to help remind us all to wash all of the dishes.

Random thought for the day: if you type "God's love is fab" into the google search engine, our blog shows up on the first page. Don't ask me how I know that, I just do.

Voices

I just wanted to let everyone know that Rebekah and I are still alive, and we heard each other's voices through voicemail yesterday. It was quite the momentous event, as I haven't heard her since the beginning of May. Anyway, life is still life. Wonderful. Catch up with us on our individual blogs. Ciao.

Five Sentences

I've been in Denver for four weeks and I just went to the zoo, whereas I've lived in Abilene for about two years (give or take) and I have never been to theirs. Rebekah and I need to fix this, especially since Havar the white tiger is now in town. Speaking of Rebekah, I have been missing her and Abilene sorely, particularly these past few days.

In other news, I now have a copy of "All the Single Ladies" and listening to it reminds me of the great dance we made to it.

I miss the times when this blog was so interesting... full of boring facts about our roommate life...!!

First Day of Summer

Today was the first official day of summer, though of course we're almost two months into summer already. I think the summer so far has been good for both JoAnna and me. We’re both doing fun and great things, which we’re recording in our personal blog. Speaking of which, if you haven’t checked out JoAnna’s blog yet, you definitely should.

Unsurprisingly I find myself missing JoAnna fairly frequently. The white tiger, Havar, finally made it to our zoo in late May. Too bad we’ll have to wait until the fall for our zoo day.

JoAnna recently reminded me of a site we enjoyed looking at over the semester. It’s a British news site that includes weekly editions of “Sign Language,” a collection of humorous signs from around the world. Anyway, if you want a good laugh then you should check out The Telegraph.

I came across another quote the other day. I recorded it way back in February, but lost it somehow. Thankfully it resurfaced now, just when we have a huge lull in quotable material. So I leave you with yet another fantastic quote:

“I don’t, like, want to make out with God.”
(Kat again. Thanks so much for the wonderful material you provide us with)

God's Love is Fab & He's My Mate

I got a text really early this morning from some random number (with a lot of numbers in the number).

Thankfully, it wasn't some creeper from another country. It was Rebekah! :)

I actually thought it was a dream when I got up, but I checked my phone and the messages are all there. That makes me so happy! It was an awesome few minutes texting with her, although it did remind me how much I miss her. But yay for international phones!

P.S. Isn't it funny how we already have more posts this month than we did all of April? Guess we were busy... or boring.

House 10

I'm in the computer lab in Oxford right now and it makes me miss last semester terribly. Our group was a ton of fun, and I loved every minute of it. I can't believe I met JoAnna right here in this house almost a year ago. Man, this place is full of memories.

Right now I'm thinking about how much I want all of those people back here with me. Let's all come back together! Anyway, I just thought I'd give a shout-out from Oxford to all of our loyal blog readers. If you've been to England before, aren't you ready to come back? If you haven't hopped across the pond, what are you waiting for? This is where it's all happening.

Miss You

I don't know exactly what to write about. I'm in the States, Rebekah's across the pond in Europe... it's almost as if life is incomplete. One would think I'd have already gone and drowned my sorrows with a couple pints of coffee.

Alas, I am still as (in)sane as ever, taking life as it comes no matter where I am. I've had a really good week and a half at home so far. I even pretended to be in Europe with Rebekah when I went to Disneyland! (You know, I've never before found "It's a Small World" to be so meaningful.)

I just realized that I have to change the time manually for my posts now, since I'm Pacific Time, two hours ahead of what I was in Texas... I guess I could change the default time, but then Rebekah will have to change her post times manually, and we don't want to make her work too hard, eh? Remember all the trouble she had with her computer while simply trying to inject some humor into her life? And to think what it would do if it found that she's trying to manipulate time...

Attack of the Clouds

I put JoAnna on an airplane a few hours ago. It's so sad. We've been roommates for a year, and now we're suddenly not. At least we'll be housemates again in a few months. We had a good last week together. It included studying, eating and dancing to Justin Timberlake. We also listed to a tape Jo recorded of visitation one night early in the semester. It brought back a lot of great memories and a lot of good laugh. Speaking of which, I've decided that I have a bit of an obnoxious laugh. If you had come into our room early in the week, you probably would have been amused at our attire. JoAnna is really warm-natured and I was sick so while she was sitting in front of the air conditioner in shorts and a t-shirt, I was bundled up in a sweatshirt and blanket.

Our last evening together was yesterday and we had a blast. Anna, Jo and I all hung out for several hours. Anna and I went to Cajun Cones with an old friend to celebrate the end of school. The shaved ice was a fantastic treat on our 103 F day. That's right, we had to move out of the dorm on a day that was over one hundred degrees. Not fun. Still hungry, we grabbed JoAnna and headed to dinner at Jason's Deli. Anna and I both had yummy sandwiches, but Jo wasn't a huge fan of hers. Apparantly she's not too keen on Dijon mustard, which pierces her soul or something like that.

Because we're kind of lame we roamed around Walmart for a while. When we came out the clouds were crazy. Billowy and pink, they looked like they were taking over the world. It was gorgeous, but also a bit odd. We ended our day with a trip to the park. I had to chase some kid off of the swingset, but then everything was cool. At one point we had to avert our eyes because a couple of birds were getting it on. Then they just pointedly ignored each other. Eventally we tired of the swings and had to say goodbye.

We don't know what this blog will look like over the summer. Jo and I each have our own blogs for recording our individual adventures. Maybe we'll just write about how much we miss each other. Or we might just take a break for a little while. You might need an entire summer to prepare yourself for the amazingness that is sure to come next semester. And so I leave you with a few final thoughts.

"You can't laugh without laughing." - Jo
"I don't think Jesus would do that to his ex." - Anna
"I love us!" - Jo

From Pancakes to Purity

As I sit here procrastinating finals studying (not surprising, eh?), I am listening to Rebekah read me facts about CPR from Wikipedia. Something we have gotten into the habit of doing is going straight for the Internet in times of need (a.k.a. whenever some topic of interest comes up in conversation). It makes me realize just how much I personally am a part of this "information age" and how much we rely on the plethora of resources the Internet provides. We also realize how much we depend on our computers!

The swine flu is attacking the world, but Abilene lies untouched thus far. So as we wait here patiently for it to pass over us, we take solace in antibacterial hand sanitizer and the no-contact rule, reading through newsfeeds streaming to our computer desktops with (yes, even more) information about the virus and its victims.

Our walls are bare, and my tower of storage boxes is no longer. It's amazing how much a part of the room those boxes became and we never really realized it. We have begun packing away our things to move out. I will be home in 5 days! But first, to conquer packing and these 3 finals and 2 papers... I think the only things getting me through this week will be Jesus, caffeine, and seeing my FAMILY on Saturday!!!

Quote of the Week:

"People die from the FLU flu!"

- Rebekah

On the First Day of Christmas ...

We’re almost at the end of the semester and our social lives seem to be slowing down. Jo and I really haven’t any crazy adventures in quite some time. Mostly we laugh a lot and there’s this one version of The Twelve Days of Christmas that we both find hilarious. It’s by the two Canadian guys who are the voices for the moose in Brother Bear.

In more exciting news, JoAnna and I are officially living together again next year! We signed a lease on a house with some other awesome girls. We are both way excited! Our house is close to campus and we’ll even be able to walk to classes.

It was supposed to storm and rain today, but it hasn’t. I think we got a few drops, but not even enough to wet the ground. The storms keep hovering around Abilene, never quite reaching us.

On Saturday I slept in until 11:00, which is extremely late for me. But for the first time this semester, JoAnna slept later than me. I think she made it till about 11:30. And that's how exciting our life has been - we've spent all our time sleeping.

And I leave you with a question to ponder.
Have you ever eaten a crayon?
Which is your favourite colour to eat?

The Most Boring Post You Will Ever Read

I go home in 17 days! I have never been so excited to go home before!! But I suppose that's understandable, because lately there have been so many presentations and projects that I feel like it's all I've been doing for the past two weeks!

So, it's obviously been very busy around here. Fortunately, Rebekah and I both have our piles of candy, dating back to Valentine's Day, to keep us sane (or sick).

I find it funny how I still have all the boxes I kept my storage in over summer... and I meant to put them away somewhere. They have actually become part of our decor, however, and it works quite well. You should come by sometime and check it out.

I have realized that I have taken about 30 pictures total of this whole semester and the only ones that have been outside this room are the ones I did for an English project. I know Rebekah only has a few photos, too. I'm thinking this semester hasn't been a very visually stimulating one.

It is so warm and beautiful outside. Mmmmm....

P.S. Tomorrow's Earth Day!

Talking to Inanimate Objects

In case any of you were wondering, Rebekah and I love online word games. Eight1, Whizz Wordz, and the like. We have recently spent way too much time playing those. There's something interesting about being in the same room and doing the same thing, but separately. It's like community, but not. Maybe we're just super lame.

In other news, Rebekah decided to test the intelligence of her MacBook on Wednesday night:

Well, I guess they're both so smart that they got on each other's nerves...

Some things that have happened relatively recently:

- Rebekah got her bangs cut.

- My sister sent me photos of my nieces!!!

- I went to a Passover seder with Rebekah's family, and it was SO COOL.

- Rebekah got her computer back from being fixed (obviously).

- I have a huge pile of muffins, chips, cereal, and granola bars that keeps growing.

- We didn't have school yesterday!

- We both did our laundry today.

That's all I've got for now, so until next time...

Easter Bunny Bowling

I know, I know, it's been awhile since I've posted. That seems to be the way things go around here.

Right now I'm sipping a harvest spice white chocolate mocha and it reminds me of Oxford. One of our last days in there I had a mince pie latte, and this tastes similar. It seems that almost everything reminds us of our semester abroad. Not a day goes by when we don't talk about Oxford.

JoAnna's mom sent her all kinds of cool Easter paraphernalia which we have put to good use. Along with candy we have Easter decorations and fun toys. We put bunnies, ducks and chicks up on our walls and played a bowling game. The pins are cute little pastel Easter bunnies and we enjoyed our little game.

Our last Disney movies were Hercules and Lady and the Tramp. Perhaps the highlight of Hercules was the moment when he enters the Temple of Zeus. "We've been there!" Katherine exclaimed. It made me happy. A favourite quote from Lady and the Tramp: "And I don't care if the Cossacks do pick you up." See, I just never got that as a child.

Life's not exceptionally exciting around here. JoAnna and I both have tons of homework, though we have managed to get to bed at reasonable times most nights. Jo and I did make it over to Walmart the other day. Somehow we spent over an hour there. Both of us are fairly indecisive and we debated long and hard over almost every item purchased.

That's all for now. Maybe this weekend will be filled with exciting adventures and we'll be back with more outlandish antics.

Busyness Blurb

Alright, well, as I sit here wondering what to write about, Rebekah is comparing the two different sizes of Otis Spunkmeyer chocolate chip muffins that are sold on campus. Turns out, even though the smaller one is sweeter (at least I think so), they are both made from the same exact ingredients. And with that mind-blowing discovery, I sit here and finish off my bowl of black beans.

Life has been rather busy as of late. Between the two of us, we have been busy with school, exams, papers, work, projects, interviews, volunteering, and hanging out. Okay, so it's just the typical college stuff, but it gets tiring. However, I've been realizing lately how grateful I am for certain things, and this college experience is one of them. So no matter how tired I get, no matter how frustrated I get, no matter how fed up I get with everything going on, I will always remember how awesome the experience as a whole is.

Last night we watched Pocahontas, and I was reminded that I really like that movie! I also wish I could have seen America when there was nothing really but trees and empty land.

Rebekah and I both help out with the kids at our churches on Wednesday nights. She works with the 3-4 year olds at Highland and I'm with the 1st-6th graders at Beltway. It's been a lot of fun sharing stories and wondering how our own kids will turn out...

The Infamous Quote Section:

- "My bottle's like a gimp bottle, it doesn't even stand up straight." - Rebekah

- "Oh, I love fuzz." - Rebekah

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! The campus was swarming with green and today has been filled with St. Patty's Day celebrations.

JoAnna and I went over to my family's house for dinner, where my mom cooked a Irish dinner. We dined on corned beef, colcannon and soda bread. Dessert consisted of Blarney Stones. Sound delicious? It certainly was.

We came back to our room for a little while to work on homework before we rounded everyone up for a trip to Brew.net. Well we tried anyway. Chris was the only person who was free, but in the end that was just fine. The three of us had a wonderful conversation over Irish Cream lattes. Yum!

I bought a new skirt over Spring Break, which is very exciting. It was warm enough (84 degrees) to wear it today. The first day of spring is in just a couple of days, so soon the warm days won't seem so crazy.

Also during Spring Break my family went to the Dallas World Aquarium. They have this big rainforest set-up, and a few birds even fly free above visitors. I, of course, was pooped on. Only I could get pooped on indoors. So not cool.

I missed JoAnna a ton throughout Spring Break. The night I got back into the dorm, we stayed up for hours just talking. Even during that short week, I forgot how much Jo and I love to laugh.

Yesterday the Bean served some sort of Thai coconut curry. It was one of the best meals I've had in the Bean. Jo and I both thought it was fantastic.

Quotes from our favourite Kat:
"The mothers [of the ducks] will come and peck the [children's] little eyes out."
"Your feet are too big. And your other parts are too small."

And in honour of this green day, the beautiful Irish countryside.

Sleepy Spring?

Silence. Stillness. Stagnance. Sikes.

Yes, that is the motto of Sikes dorm on spring break - if you can even imagine it being more still than it normally is!

After an initial scare of essentially being trapped in the dorm - because we got no notification by email or otherwise that we needed to put our names on a special list so that our ID cards would still open the front doors (so after finding that our cards didn't work, we were let in by a nice student who happened to be staying here as well, and we just stayed inside or took turns going outside so that one could let the other in) - Katherine and I have been happy buddies this week, usually seeing each other for some amount of time every day (oh, and yes, we did get ourselves on that list - thankfully). All I can say is that I'm glad I know her! It's even great when I stink at video games and she beats me just about every time in every game we play for three hours. Thanks for being a great friend, Katherine. Love you!!

My spring break has been characterized by sleeping in, overcast skies, no Bean food (which has really been a relief, as I've grown quite tired of it), pursuit of personal reading (which has been absolutely glorious), movie- and TV-watching, and half-hearted attempts to actually get some work done (and today I've been the most productive, in that respect, out of any other day so far). It's been very relaxed, but not without a hint of loneliness. I thought it was odd that I should get lonely so quickly, since I like being alone and I will usually take any chance I can get to be in solitude. (Oh wow, I sound like an aspiring hermit.) I think, even with the difficulties of adjusting to life back at school, as compared with Oxford (yes, it's still very hard), I've reattached myself to my friends here, and I was sad to not see them everyday like I usually do. However, all in all, it's been a great retreat, and I'll see them once again in a few short days.

Last night I saw Rebekah for the first time since last Friday. 'Twas great. She, Katherine, and I watched Bend It Like Beckham, which was even better the second time around. Rebekah's been out of town with family, so I've even been without a roommate! This has given me plenty of opportunities to blast music and dance around the room wildly... as if I didn't do that when she was in the room anyway.

My mom sent me a package with a few St. Patrick's Day decorations in it. Since I can't be in Ireland next Tuesday, I figured I'd just add some green to the room with a big shamrock and little leprechaun hats and a mini leprechaun figure for good measure. He even brought some gold with him... chocolate gold...

Oh, awesome news: I got a summer internship with Dry Bones in Denver, CO! I'm extremely excited and I still can barely believe I'm going. Dry Bones is an organization based in Denver that basically builds relationships with the street kids of the downtown area, showing them Christ's love and providing services they may need. I did last year's spring break campaign with them and loved it. This summer, I will be working with a different church youth group every week and getting them connected with the kids in town. It's gonna be great.

I'm a bit behind on posts, so that means I'm behind on quotes as well. Here's a goldmine of them:

"He's being a poopyhead to me!" - Anne

"When I said perfect, I didn't mean 'Son of God' perfect." - Rebekah

"'Cause that's the first thing to do - catch the goat." - David

"'Don't look at the legs!' Look how sexy that chair leg is!" - Katherine

"Ah, my giant ribs. I've always had them." - Katherine

It's Raining, It's Pouring

Well, it's not actually pouring, but it is raining in Abilene right now. It hasn't really rained since October, so this rain is very welcome and delightful. Granted, it's not much rain, but even the slightest amount of moisture is needed.

I continue to be amazed that people actually enjoy reading this. In fact, we received our first fan mail the other day. So our thanks goes out to Spenser who sent us a note all the way from Egypt!

Our last Disney movie was The Hunchback of Notre Dame. That movie is intense, and way darker than I ever realized as a child.

I can't believe that it's been so long since I've posted. I guess I need to work on this a bit. JoAnna's been a bit better about keeping you all up to date. So, my apologies on account of that. Even now I don't really have all that much to say. I haven't seen JoAnna since Spring Break began, so there's no exciting news on that front. But stay tuned, as something fascinating is sure to happen soon.

Attention:
Please send all fan mail to our ACU boxes.
Thank you.
The Management

The Importance of Being Insignificant

Rebekah and I have recently been in awe at how many people read and enjoy this blog. We can't seem to fathom that reading it could offer any substantial amount of entertainment for anyone, but obviously we're wrong. It's interesting how the little, random, insignificant, everyday things of other people's lives can be so interesting, eh? Maybe that's why social phenomenons like Facebook status updates and Twitter feeds are so popular.

Sad day, Thursday I dropped my cell phone and it now has a huge crack in the screen. Oh well. Like I told my mom, it's ugly but it works. The sound is a little wonky, but it's alright. I'm just freaked out that it will suddenly stop working and I will be left without a phone. I guess that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, but it's my main form of contact with most people I know.

Rebekah and I went to Wal-Mart yesterday. Among other things, she bought a new bottle of multivitamins (which, unfortunately, weren't the exact ones she needed to replace, but they'll do) and I bought a couple of headbands.

In other news, well... I guess it would be... uh... "olds"... anyway, something else that is still an issue is the lack of curtains over our closets. I think we have just resolved to let them stay wide open and hope that there are no dirty clothes visible when anyone comes over. This wouldn't still be such a problem if the dang curtain rods were removable...

Recently, several of us have started watching animated Disney movies together, in honor of the fact that Meghan has not seen most of them (pitiful, huh? [; we love you Meghan!!). So far we've watched The Lion King (I actually missed that one, but at least I've seen it several times before... and even eaten an ant in honor of Hakuna Matata - note: bad idea), The Little Mermaid, and Aladdin. I think the next one is Hunchback of Notre Dame. It's great reexperiencing these childhood delights, but very surprising how many mature references are slipped into the films. "Leave no shell unturned!" (Please, leave two of them unturned, for all our sakes.) "Combination hookah and coffemaker!" And Aladdin finds himself in a brothel as he's running away from the guards? Yeah.

Ahh, spring break is just around the corner; I think I can smell it, even if I'm not quite sure what it smells like... oh, yeah, that's right: freeeeedom.

Here's a poem that I recently came across that I really liked:

"Eternity" by William Blake

He who binds to himself a joy

Does the winged life destroy;

But he who kisses the joy as it flies

Lives in eternity's sun rise.

Aaaaand of course --

Quotes/Conversation Snippets to Remember:

Katherine: "I've always wanted to lie on a rock like that."

David: "Can't say I've ever had the urge."

Lights, Graveyards, and Spooks

It is now my honor to fill you in on last Friday... Friday the Thirteenth.... woooooOOoooOOOOO...

Katherine, Meghan, Rebekah, David, and I hopped in Katherine's car and headed out to Anson. Our goal was to freak ourselves out with the Anson lights (which are definitely not just cars on some distant highway... surely not...). Okay. So, we get to Anson and follow directions we were given, but can't seem to find the graveyard or the dirt road that is supposed to lead us to the place where we can see the lights. We spent about an hour driving back and forth on the road looking for this measley little road, and even with directions from Katherine's mom and a cashier (we stopped by Allsups and Meghan went in and told the clerk she was a genealogist looking for her family's records and needed directions to the cemetery... well, she was prepared to use that story, anyway, even if it didn't really happen like that...). Finally, we turned down the right road... and ended up not seeing any real exciting lights... but we did get herded by a couple of cars (that's what it feels like when the dirt roads are tiny and one-way). That was frightening. The best part is yet to come. We drove back to the cemetery and drove slowly through it. Some of the tombstones were huge, creepy pillars, something I'd never seen in a graveyard before. The creepiest part, though, were the reflections of the headlights in the shiny headstones... they looked like candles were being lit and extinguished. After a couple minutes, we stopped the car in the middle and David and Meghan got out. Katherine, Rebekah, and I stayed squealing in the car, begging Katherine, who was curled in a ball, to lock the doors. She didn't, and I nearly pulled Rebekah's arm off when Meghan opened the driver's side door. THEN David jumped into my window and was just plain mean. Serves them right that birds dived out of the trees at them... heh...

Memorable Quotes:

"Five - oh, you're too dumb for me."

- Katherine

"Okay, everybody, as I turn... do you see tombstones?"

- Katherine

"Delicious, Dynamite, DA BOMB."

- Me, Anna, Rebekah (respectively)

Plane to Hawaii?

Many people have heard of my strange dreams. I thought I'd share a relatively tame one that I had while we were still in Oxford.

We were here in Oxford but some of the people were from the fall semester, and some were from the summer program. One of our group trips was to Hawaii for a week and the planes outside our houses were getting ready to leave. I hadn’t known about the trip and was rushing to get out to the plane in time. I ran out there and was told to get in one of the planes. I squeezed myself into the one available seat, which faced the wall of the plane. It was so tight that my knees would hit the wall and I had to sit sideways with my legs stretched across Jennifer Lewis.

All of a sudden I realized that I had no bag, because I hadn’t known we were about to fly to Hawaii. I had no clothes and I hadn’t even brought my wallet. So, the planes made a short stop at my house in Abilene. I was in my backyard where I said hi to my dog. I then went inside to find clothes. Amara was at school, but Mom and I figured that she would be okay if I borrowed some of her clothes because all of mine were in England. Mom and I decided that we would go to WalMart and buy a bunch of camis – because those go with everything, I said. I was looking in our closet for clothes, but it was mostly full of toys. There were miniature Barbie dolls everywhere, handcuffed to things in my closet.

I went back outside with a box that contained a slice of pizza, some sort of animal and a fly. I shewed the fly away and ate the pizza. The carport and patio in my backyard were covered in water. I realized on closer inspection that it was a deep pool with orcas swimming in it.

And there you have it, one of the famous Rebekah Childers' dreams. Sometimes they are actually a lot stranger even than that.

Quote for the day:
"That's whey they're called daggers. Otherwise they would just be 'aggers'."

I'm On My Knees

I've heard some disappointment concerning our lack of updates, so I'll go ahead and post something. Oh, by the way, thanks, T'auna, for being a loyal reader. :)

Rebekah and I have both been rather tired lately. The other night, she was sprawled out on the floor, unmoving, and last night I opted for the the couch and Food Network rather than a game of pool with her and David. I've been kind of like that today, too. I feel so heavy and weighed-down, but not in my spirit, just physically and mentally. I don't know what's up. I hope badminton today cheers me up.

Valentine's Day looms within the next few days and Rebekah and I plan on spending it together... along with the other single girls from our semester in Oxford. We're going to have tea and enjoy being girly... or something like that.

We now have Rebekah's keyboard in our room and I feel privileged to hear her practice sometimes, because she doesn't like anyone to hear her play. (She thinks she's not very good - what a lie.) I'm also trying to learn on my own because I've always wanted to play. I wonder how long this will last.

Ahhhhh this is a hard week. So busy, so many tests, so many other extra things -- it's only half over... I don't like thinking like this though because I don't want to be living from weekend to weekend, with no peace in between. And I don't even like Saturdays! So I've been seeking God daily and it's making things easier. But I'm still weary.

By the way, I have a music recommendation for anyone who is looking for something new. I just bought Tenth Avenue North's album entitled Over and Underneath at the Campus Store last weekend (all CDs are $2!), and it is an awesome album for praising, worshiping and soaking. You may have heard a couple of their songs -- "Love Is Here" and "By Your Side" are playing on AirOne all the time. My personal current favorite is "Beloved." It's about God's unquenchable love for us. Simply beautiful. Receive it, go here to hear it. (I don't particularly like that picture, and they misspelled some of the lyrics, but the point is, the song's there.)


Quote of choice:
"Okay, D, D, J, and Edward Cullen. And I am so choosing Edward Cullen!"
- Rebekah

Cookies, Chocolate, Tea, and Boys

Last night we had a party in our room, complete with cookies, chocolate, tea, and boys (gasp!). When I brought the second guy up the desk workers looked at me oddly, asking, "Weren't you just down here with a different boy?" Thankfully when we let the third guy in, a new desk worker meant I didn't have to explain the influx of gentlemen into our room. Anyway, we had a good night and enjoyed playing around with the sound effects on my keyboard. JoAnna figured out the perfect combination of sounds to make me giggle incessantly.

We spent yesterday afternoon catching up on Lost. The show gets more confusing every week, but remains fascinating. We all squish onto Katherine's little love seat, pop some popcorn and enjoy the show. Lost is so deeply ingrained within me that I even had a flash-forward in my dream the other night!

Every day JoAnna ends up with more sweets. Her parents must love her a lot. I'm okay with it, though, because I also get to enjoy these treats. So, my thanks goes out to JoAnna's parents.

I didn't have a Greek quiz on Thursday, so that was a welcome relief. However, I do have a test next week, so if I suddenly disappear from the face of the earth, it's because I spontaneously combusted whilst parsing verbs.

Quote of the Day:
"Well, you're both the same shape." (Credit to Kat)

Psalm 113:3 ---

From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised!


I woke up about an hour too early today. I meant to wake up just early enough to go to the library, get a drink, and finish the reading I didn't do last night because of visitation. I guess having people over last night confused me when it came to setting my alarm clock, or maybe I was just really tired and didn't realize what I was doing. Anyway, as I sat in the library, too early, enjoying my iced caramel macchiato, I tried to do my reading. However, I was distracted by the most beautiful sunrise in the clearest sky I had ever seen. Thank You, Jesus. Then I got to thinking about sunrises and sunsets, and finally I decided that I like sunrises more than sunsets. Why? Well, there are two different feelings I get when experiencing either one. A sunset is relaxation, adoration, sweetness. A sunrise is like God telling me, "Hey, remember me? Well, here I am, in all My glory. I love you so much and I'm giving you a new day." A sunrise is hope and a new beginning. It is a catalyst to love.

A little later, just before I was about to leave for class (after having done my reading, and then some, of course), I suddenly really missed last semester. I missed the newness of every experience. I missed most notably, strangely enough, the early mornings we'd have to get up while we were in Girona, Spain, and have to find a shop or bakery for breakfast. But... I'm here, and now. I decided that what God was ultimately showing me through thinking about the unending cycle of sunrises and sunsets was an appreciation for the little things in life, the routine, the ordinary; because often I fail to notice Him in it all. He reminded me of how glorious He is even in something that's not new, something that's been happening over and over again for thousands upon thousands of years: the rising and setting of the sun.

As a side note, we sang "Heavenly Sunlight" in chapel today. :)


My morning library encounter with God brought to mind this song for some reason:

"Inside Outside" by Delirious?

Inside outside, under my skin
Never ending love, I don’t know where it begins
I don’t know where it ends, I don’t know how high
I don’t know how deep, I don’t know how wide
Outside, inside around the world
Never ending love envelops me like a cloud
I feel You in front, I feel You behind
I feel You up above, and I feel You at the side

And You, You’re all over me, You’re all over me
Your banner is over me, I give it all ‘cause

You still captivate me, fascinate me
You still captivate me, saturate me

Inside outside, pulling me in
No matter where I run I know You’ll never give in
I see You in the storm, I see You in a kiss
I’ve been around the world and never found a love like this

You’re all over me, You’re all over me
You’re everything I want to be
I’m all over You, You’re everything I want to see
You’re all over me

You, still captivate me, fascinate me
You still captivate me, saturate me
You still captivate me, liberate me
You still captivate me

Intoxication by Laughter

Proof that we really are funny? After dinner last night a friend told me that she always feels drunk after hanging out with me. Did you know that laughter releases endorphins, thus causing you to become even happier? Happiness really is intoxicating and I always end up with a good ab workout after our times together.

We read some Fox News headlines online, and those things are strange. Headlines consisting of everything from “See-through Frogs Discovered in Colombian Rain Forest” to “Man Killed by Exploding Cell Phone” made us laugh out loud.

We have a stack of boxes here in our room, which we have assembled to form Pride Rock. Gutterball, JoAnna's plastic elephant from a kid's meal at Rosa's, is atop the structure (I got a kid's meal that same night, but do you think there was a toy in my bag? No siree, only JoAnna was privileged enough to be given a toy). You should probably come by and take a look at our masterpiece. And then you can write a note on the "I love Rebekah and JoAnna" board.

Speaking of wild animals, rumor has it that the Abilene Zoo will soon possess a white Bengal tiger. We're extremely excited about this addition and are making plans to go over there as soon as the tiger is here. Maybe you want to join us on our zoo day?

Sometimes we do crazy things in our room. We thought we’d give you just a taste of what goes on in here. Warning: Vast quantities of sugar and caffeine were involved. Enjoy and laugh.



Wonderful Words of JoAnna:
“We’re all fruit.”

From Dream Analysis to Pink Frosting

Going to bed around here is always a process. We'll get our PJs on, brush our teeth, wash our face, fiddle around on Facebook, discuss what time we're getting up in the morning, set our alarms, Rebekah will put lotion on the back of her hands, we'll turn out the lights and get into our beds. Sometimes our conversations will simply cease, but other times we'll spend over an hour just talking through the dark. However, I do not think we can blame these exchanges for Rebekah's wildly imaginative dreams, which are oftentimes the topic of morning conversations. Dinosaurs, puffins, flying, vampires, babies... We love to attempt interpretations, and so far what we've come up with is nothing very positive, but at least we don't actually believe it. It's fun, either way.

Yesterday at lunch Rebekah tried to talk without using her hands (she actually folded her arms tightly). Because of this, her shoulders and head ended up doing the talking, which was pretty much the highlight of my mealtime, except for that pile of broccoli I ate.

My parents sent me a Valentine's Day package. I just got it today even though my dad tracked it and said it had arrived and was signed off on last Thursday. So, after being patient and waiting for a slip in my mailbox, which I never got, I finally just went to the window today and asked them about it. They realized that they really did have it and just happened to not print out a notification for some reason or another. Ah, well. Anyway, I now have three dozen heart-shaped sugar cookies and two little containers of pink and white frosting. If you want some, ask me. I definitely have enough to share! Receive the love. Oh, and among other things, they also sent me two pairs of Valentine socks. Those I will not share, but I just thought you should know that my massive collection of fun socks continues to grow.

And now for some notable quotes from Rebekah:
1) "If you look up boy in the dictionary, right there, it says dumb." (Don't worry, guys, we really do like you; we were just talking about certain differences between guys and girls...)
2) "Since I have a MIDI-USB connector, I can do anything!" (How's that for optimism?)

Too Much Sugar

JoAnna and I just got back from a Super Awesome Super Bowl party. If you don’t know from experience, let me tell you: put a bunch of girls together with chips, dip, cookies and cake and you’ll have the time of your life. It was pretty intense, which is kind of funny since the only reason I rooted for my team was because their mascot name starts with a “C”, the same letter as my last name. I’m sure JoAnna had more noble reasons for backing up that same team.

This week's snow day, well ice day really, ensured that our schedules for the rest of the semester will be messed up. But hey, we got to sleep in, hang out and skip classes. What more can a college student ask for?

Last night we made our end-of-the-week coffee run in an attempt to use extra meal plans. Drinks were good and the caffeine and sugar rush quickly knocked JoAnna over. I’m actually not exaggerating at all; she laughed so hard that she fell to the pavement and rolled around in hysterics. I was laughing a bit myself, but I managed to remain upright.

JoAnna refuses to tell me her middle name, probably because she is just so stubborn. Actually, I think it’s because she has told me before and by not remembering it now I am proving to be a very poor excuse for a roommate. Don’t worry, I’ll get it out of her somehow.

Quotes to remember:
“Maybe their egos are bigger than their stomachs.”
“Gordon Brown is my homie.”
"Chris-tofer"
“You can’t really expect me to believe that you, a British woman, and a Chinese man are all members of the United States military.” (Lost – you should watch it)

I’ll leave you with this thought: How would the world be different if all cups were square?

Rebekah Gives Chuck Norris Nightmares

One of my favorite things about rooming with Rebekah is the fact that her cell phone makes really cool noises. I'll suddenly hear bubbles or chimes or other indescribably cute electronic sounds and it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Another great thing about being her roommate is watching her crochet standing up. Although she's not doing it right now, it makes me laugh when she does. Also, she gives us a reason to have a first aid kit. Good thing I'm prepared to take care of her.

Tonight at dinner I ate a slice of pizza, a couple leaves of spinach (but no more than that because there was something wonky about it), an apple, a glass of water, ice cream, and another piece of pizza. Rebekah ate a lot of vegetables because she is turning into an animal; probably a rabbit, because she seems to particularly enjoy celery and celery reminds me of rabbits. I'm sure she'd rather be a horse but she has yet to take that next step of eating from a trough.

I leave you with this: The only Facebook group you need. Because she chews olive pits with her bare teeth!

All By Myself...

I'm alone in the room and I'm wondering if anyone else even exists in this dorm or if Rebekah and I were tricked into living in this little room by ourselves when we really could have had the run of the whole building. I'm thinking that maybe the few people on my hall whom I've met may have just been actresses, placed around the building at strategic moments when They know Rebekah and I will be in the dorm...

Okay, really, I'm not that weird and I don't truly believe I'm in a life like that portrayed on The Truman Show (although that would be really cool... in a creepy way). But being in Sikes for almost two days straight, thanks to icy weather and canceled classes, with only Rebekah has really made me wonder where all the people are. I mean, between the two of us and our 15 other personalities, there is plenty to keep us entertained, but I'd still love to see a fresh face nearby every once in a while.

What's been happening lately:
- We tried to hang Christmas lights over our entry way, but the blue tape doesn't hold them very well (be warned). So I wrapped them around the curtain rods that are in our closets, since we STILL don't have curtains for them yet.
- Rebekah's in class right now and I'm about to leave for Badminton. Woohoo! Seriously, I actually like that class now. At first I wondered what I had gotten myself into (I was one swing short of gashing my forehead open with the racket), but now I'm getting the hang of it... slowly.
- If you happen to live on the second floor of Sikes, on the south wing facing west, and you hear a thump from overhead once in a while... that's probably Rebekah flopping herself up onto her bed. Oh, and if you hear tinkling sounds, kind of like bells... Well, those are crochet needles that she throws to the ground in frustration when she can't seem to get the edges of her blanket straight.
- We miss Oxford way too much and have a bad habit of lamenting the fact that there are other people living in the room we lived in last semester RIGHT NOW. Come save us from ourselves.
- I just ate the last half of a Snickers bar that I bought from the vending machine in the lobby a couple days ago when I was craving chocolate. And that's why I'm going to badminton now.

A Long Time Ago

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, the paths of Rebekah and JoAnna first crossed.

Actually, we met in Oxford when we were assigned to be roommates for the semester. Who knew that bright summer day would mark the beginning of such an illustrious friendship? Now, after traveling Europe together, we’re both back here in the states and JoAnna is still stuck with me as a roommate. I suppose I must not be too bad since she decided to put up with me for so long.

Just as in Oxford, our days continue to be filled with riotous laughter and our nights with wild partying. Well, we really do laugh a lot, and sometimes for no real reason. However, I’m not sure if interpreting Wordsworth or translating Greek really can be called partying. Eh, whatever, we still have fun.

In other news, JoAnna’s English class switched venues today. This is significant because no longer is every one of her classes, sans badminton, in the same building on campus. Poor girl will have to walk more. She also has a recent fixation with caramel.

I think we're both hoping for snow tomorrow; or at least ice, so none of our professors can get up to the campus. Snow flurries would be preferable. Regardless, I love cold weather and I'm so stoked for tomorrow, when the mercury won't rise above freezing.

Oh, today I found a french fry in my purse, my Wicked ticket in my laptop case and a Tube map under my bed. It seems something makes me miss England every day (don't worry the fry is not from Europe).

Wow, obviously our lives are extremely exciting. Nevertheless, if I were not me, then I would definitely hang out with us. JoAnna and I are a ton of fun and we’re both exceptionally hilarious. We think we’re funny, anyway. I'm not sure if anyone else finds our antics amusing. Hmmm, I suppose that sort of makes us tragically unfunny.