Crazy Weekend

Wow. This weekend has been a whirlwind of activity. I think the pace of my life is beginning to pick up and will rush non-stop until I go to India. As long as I get time to hang out with all my friends, I'm ok with that.

Some big events happened this weekend:

• Nate graduated on Saturday. He was homeschooled his whole life. I think it's so neat to watch homeschool graduations; there is just something right about parents handing their children their diploma.
• Matt got married on Saturday. I missed the wedding because I was at Nate's graduation, but I made it to the reception. Jonie looked so beautiful! And aside from the caterer throwing away my Godiva chocolate and me dropping food on the floor, it was a good reception.
  
• Monica and Kelly were baptized on Sunday. I love watching people get baptized, especially my friends. They are awesome girls!
  
• I got to jump on a trampoline on Sunday. That rocked my socks off!
  
• Andy and Allison had their going-away party on Monday. It's so weird to think that my friends are old enough to be doing grown-up things like getting married, graduating, buying a house and moving away.
  

I did learn this weekend that apparently, no matter how dressed up I am, I still look no older than 17. I was definitely served non-alcoholic champagne at the wedding, because the caterer didn't think I looked old enough to even ask if I was 21. Oh well. I'll appreciate it when I'm 30.

Why birthday's at my house are always an adventure

My family and I celebrated my birthday last night. I was told that we were going out to eat but when I asked if I could pick where we went, my mom immediately said "no". When she couldn't remember the name of the place we were going to, I knew something was up.

My dad tried to cover it by telling me about some friend of theirs who was a chef.... no wait... a caterer. I didn't believe we were going to his house for dinner either. No one would tell me what was going on.

We ate at home and then drove out to the middle of nowhere to someone's house. I didn't find out what we were doing until we were standing in a strangers house with my brother video taping everything. I felt like I was on some cheesy reality show.

Remember that random list of things I wanted to do? Well my parents arranged it so that I could accomplish #1. Yep. I got to drive an 18-wheeler last night. Through a hay field. It was sooo cool.

Did you know those things have 18 gears going forward and 4 in reverse? And the clutch on those things a lot rougher than on my car! I learned a lot about semi's yesterday like how engine braking works, what kind of suspension systems they have and how they measure their loads.

It was a very unique birthday that I enjoyed. Except for when the guy kept telling me I looked 12 and not 22. He better be glad I didn't drive his rig into his house. Oh well.

I also got to blow the horn. It was a good day.

Cut Your Grass

Matt lives in a town that requires its citizens to keep their grass height below 7 inches. If you don't the city will mow it for you and charge you for the cost. What a nice city.

Matt wasn't home when Ben and I showed up last night and his grass was definitely over 7 inches high. We decided to leave him a note from the city about his grass. On a scrap piece of paper I wrote this note:

Dear Homeowner,

Your grass is above the 7 inch limit. It needs to be shorter. You have one day to cut your grass or we will cut it for you. You will be charged for the cost of cutting the grass. Thank you for being a good citizen of our city (you big slob).

- The City Volunteer Yard Patrol

We then duct taped the note to Matt's front door.

Matt got home and flipped out about how he had to cut his grass the next day. It took Scott pointing out the fact that the "volunteer yard patrol" called him a big slob and duct taped the note to his door before Matt realized it was a joke. His upcoming wedding has obviously clouded his reasoning.

I'm still laughing about it.

There is no good title for this post

My birthday was interesting. I spent a little more time than I had planned in airplanes due to bad weather in Atlanta and a medical emergency on our plane. But we made it.

Amy was a beautiful bride and the wedding went very, very well. It was a simple wedding, but still a lot of work. I think it convinced me to elope and have a cook-out in my backyard for a reception. Umm.. actually...Forget the cook-out. I'm going to have a potluck. Bring your own plate and silverware too. I'll provide the lemonade. Sounds a whole lot simpler.

In case you ever wanted to eat at the Checkers in Pensacola, FL, be prepared to spend the rest of your life waiting for your food. When you are too old to chew anymore, they'll give you someone else's food and get made when you give it back. This is what native Floridians do for fun. That or sit with their back to you (while you are stuck in line) with their butt crack showing. Watching you puke also gives them great joy.

Speaking of butt cracks, I would like to offer this advice: Showing your crack is not in the least bit attractive. I have seen WAY too many this spring. I know that with warmer weather people feel the freedom to wear as little clothes as possible, but a little taste please. No one and I mean no one wants to see your crack. That's just gross. This gross trend seems to have influenced every kind of person. I've seen girls and guys of all sizes, ages and hairiness levels sportin' their crack. Wear a belt. Please.

Birthday

Tomorrow I turn twenty-two. By the time I post this it will be tomorrow. 22 just seems so old. Older than turning 20 seemed and I freaked out when I turned 20. I'll have a college degree soon and I'll be 22. I'm almost dead.

Not really. I like being my age. I just thought I would know more by now. All I really know is that I don't know anything.

I am celebrating my birthday in airports. Tamara and I are flying down to Flordia for a friend's wedding. It should be a good weekend.

Ben comes back on Monday which makes for a good start to the week. So the next few days should be good. A great way to start my 23rd year here on this earth.

Have a great weekend. Eat some cake for me.

My Car

I've had some interesting adventures with my car lately.

The first one occurred on Friday. I was in a rush to pack for the leadership retreat and almost forgot to pack my deodorant. I grabbed the new stick at the last moment and threw it in my car. I didn't put it in my bag because I figured it would melt in the trunk. However, putting it on the front seat only allowed it to bake in the sun.

I came back to my car to find a puddle, yes a puddle, of melted deodorant in my front seat. I freaked out and grabbed some napkins and in the process dropped my cell phone in the puddle. GROSS! I grabbed the phone and then picked up the deodorant case. This only managed to allow more melted Dove deodorant to drip all over my car and me. Let me tell you: melted deodorant is the hardest thing ever to get out of fabrics. It acts like cornstarch. As soon as you press on it, it gets hard. There is still deodorant on my front seat. Every passenger who rides with me leaves with a backside that smells powder fresh, which according to Amberly is how they are supposed to smell.

On Sunday Monica and I were leaving the library and I couldn't find my keys. Yep. I locked them in my car. There's nothing like looking through your window to see your keys laying there on the front seat, taunting you. I swore my keys did a little you-can't-get-me dance. I think they were getting high on the powder freshness of the deodorant. I almost broke the window. Monica was nice enough to drive me home and wait while I scoured the house for the spare key.

Hurray for cars!

How to get someone to fail out of seminary or go bankrupt

Give them fish.

A while ago Ben went to seminary and I joked that he seemed lonely and needed fish. He freaked out and threatened to flush any animals that he received. I convinced him that I didn't care and that I was sending him some fish. I sent him goldfish crackers. It made me laugh.

A bunch of us were hanging out and I mentioned the fact that Ben needed some fish. Someone had the brilliant idea that each of us should send parts of a fish tank to Ben. One day he would get the bowl, the next day rocks, then food, then a net, then fish. It would be a great practical joke.

But then Scott moved away and the bowl didn't get sent for a couple of months. Through a series of miscommunications not everything was sent and when I showed up with the fish all he had was a bowl and some food. That's ok. These were goldfish. They should be fine. They are very low-maintenance fish.

They were until they started swimming sideways which occurred the day after Ben got them. Ben's sister Dawn told him that he needed a larger tank, an air bubbler, rocks and distilled water. Ben, being concerned for the health of his new friends, Fred and Jose, bought these needed supplies.

Things were good until Ben's friend who worked in a fish department and was trained by two fish experts, pointed out that his fish were traumatized. Just look at how they were breathing. Things were not right with these fish. These fish happen to be comet goldfish and apparently comet goldfish need a lot of room to dart about in their tank. Ben's tank just wasn't big enough.

Yep. The fish need another tank. These low-maintenance fish don't seem so low-maintenance anymore.

My dad works with a guy who's daughter won a goldfish at a carnival. They took it home and he decided that the fish needed a bigger bowl. After a while that one just didn't work and the fish needed a bigger tank. Soon after that the guy decided that he really wanted a salt-water aquarium. Then a bigger salt-water tank. In a month the guy spent over $20,000 on fish stuff.

Sorry Ben. We didn't know what kind of monster fish ownership can be.

The best part is that Ben is moving in with Scott, who will now have to deal with the fish as well.

Best joke ever.

Talk About An Answer to Prayer

Pat, the president of the company I work for, heard that I would be without medical insurance for my trip to India. (I'm not covered under my parent's once I graduate and not under the company's until I start working full-time.) He came into my office yesterday morning and said:

"You won't have health insurance for your trip. That's no good. We need to fix that."

So he is having me start full-time two days before I leave for India and then granting me a leave of absence so that I can have health insurance coverage for my trip. The extra expense will be taken out of my pay check for a couple months.

HOW COOL IS THAT? I love working there.

God is good.

Take That Trees

My dad is currently cutting down about 20 trees on our property. He cut about five trees down in the fall. That makes a nice sized patch of cleared land.

I asked him why he was cutting these trees down and his response was, "Those trees were blocking my sun at the pool."

Yes. They were blocking the sun. At the pool.

So they got cut.

I find that hilarious.

Fluff

Thanks for all the massive comments. You guys rock my face off.

This weekend was great! Tons of fun. Seminary students and karaoke is a hilarious combination!

So we had a cat named Fluff. Fluff the girl cat. We had Fluff for over 12 years. She was dumped on our road (we first thought she was a ground hog) and we took her in. She was already fixed when we got her. (Yeah!!! No kittens!) We took her to the vet every year for somewhere around 7 years.

We switched vets when we got goats to go to one that took care of livestock. When we took fluff to the new vet, he informed us that Fluff was a boy cat. A boy cat. Our other vet was wrong. For 7 years. About the gender of a household pet.

What kind of vet is that?

Poor Fluff was stuck with a very girly cat name. We tried to say Fluff in a deeper voice to make him feel better, but I don't think it worked.

New Name

Yesterday at Swing Dancing I met a new couple. Dan and Lisa. At least that's what I thought their names were.

Two seconds after I met them, I introduced them to Rick as Dan and Lisa. Dan looks at me and goes, "My name is Dave."

"Oh. Sorry.

Lisa speaks up, "My name is Nicki."

Yeah it was kind of embarrassing. But it isn't the first time I have renamed people.

At least they'll remember me....

I'm going to visit Ben this weekend. Leave some fun comments for me to come back to!

like your life is any better

I vacuumed the floor in my office today.


That's all I got.

Sorry nothing more interesting has happened in my life.

Maybe tomorrow.

These Verses Made Me Cry

I bathed you with water and washed the blood from you and put ointments on you. I clothed you with an embroidered dress and put leather sandals on you. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with costly garments. I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck, and I put a ring on your nose, earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothes were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was fine flour, honey and olive oil. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen. And your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign LORD.

But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You lavished your favors on anyone who passed by and your beauty became his. You took some of your garments to make gaudy high places, where you carried on your prostitution. Such things should not happen, nor should they ever occur. You also took the fine jewelry I gave you, the jewelry made of my gold and silver, and you made for yourself male idols and engaged in prostitution with them. And you took your embroidered clothes to put on them, and you offered my oil and incense before them. Also the food I provided for you—the fine flour, olive oil and honey I gave you to eat—you offered as fragrant incense before them. That is what happened, declares the Sovereign LORD.

Ezekiel 16:9-19

Happy May Day

According to tradition you are supposed to leave May Day gifts on your neighbor's door steps. These gifts could be flowers, cookies or a card.

When we were little, all of us kids would put together packages for our neighbors. Now my mom does it. When I move, my neighbors are totally getting May Day gifts.

Anyone else out there celebrate May Day this way?