Texas Hill Country

Final Destination: Hondo, Texas.Enjoying the Hill Country.
Driving through Sweetwater, Texas
Soon to be another of the hundreds of wind turbines in Sweetwater.
Massive turbine propeller.
My Cousin Sara and her Marine, Ed.

The backdrop at the wedding site.
Me
My brother Casey and his girlfriend, Casey.
Four Generations: My mom, my grandma, my great grandma and me.

Month Five: Silliness & Seriousness

Married for five months and counting. This past month was full of traveling and laughter. We traveled to Fort Worth and to White Sands, New Mexico. With the school year ending, I found myself to be in a much lighter mood, which translated into carefree and somewhat silly behavior. One night Chris and I were lying in bed when Chris decided to emulate our neighbor. Our neighbor, whose bedroom is right next to ours, likes to entertain male visitors from time to time. Needless to say, she is not a quiet entertainer. So, there we were, lying in bed in complete darkness and silence, with a good foot between us, when all of the sudden Chris lets out a loud, drawn out, "Ohhhhhhhh," followed by a few seconds of silence and then another groan of passion. His goal was clear: wake up the neighbor. My attempts to silence him by reprimand were futile. The groans became louder and longer. Finally, during the silence between groans, I yelled out an agitated, "Ouch!" I hope our neighbor laughed as much as we did. On the serious side, I've come to realize the tremendous power of the biblical analogy comparing the marriage relationship to the relationship between Christ and His church. Our decision to follow Christ is a daily decision, not just a one time decision made at the time of conversion. So it is with marriage. The wedding is only the first step. Each day both husband and wife must decide to remain committed to each other. Both relationships require a huge commitment, with huge implications. But what an amazing blessing each relationship can be – especially when that relationship is filled with laughter.

I Won!!!

Today I was listening to the radio when the announcer said the station was giving away scratch cards for free gas at a gas station near my apartment. The cards were worth $5 to $25. I ran out of the apartment and jumped in the car. As I made the 2 mile trip to the gas station, I was praying that I would get a $25 card, and I did!!! Those six and a half gallons of gas will last me almost two weeks. Praise God for blessing me with two weeks of gas.

Trip to White Sands, NM

The Gang.

Chris sledding down a dune.

About to descend.

Chris and I

The desert land (taken by Chris).

We drove through Artesia, NM, where my grandpa is burried.

Enjoying the sun at Sunspot, the National Solar Observatory near Cloudcroft, NM.

Much of the equipment at the solar observatory was circa 1960's. It was like I had wondered onto the set of Lost.

We carpooled with our friends Ryan and Amber.

We stayed in Cloudcroft, which is in the mountains and overlooks the basin where White Sands is located.

Change

As I sit in front of my computer in a completely vegetative state, I'm amazed at how much my life has changed in the last year. In the last year...

I bought a car on my own for the first time. I found a little silver 2000 cavalier with 20,000 miles on it. The car drove an average of 2,800 miles a year for the first seven years of its life. This past year it drove 10,000. The car probably hates me for the tripled work load.

I quit a job with the intention of not finding another one...for 3 years. The summer I turned 16, which was the summer of 1998, my mom drove me around Burleson to fill out job applications. I didn't want a job at the time; my mom wanted me to have a job. That summer I got my first job and I always had one until August of 2007. As I shutdown my computer and walked away from by cubicle at my last job for the last time nine months ago, I was excited about the changes ahead but was also worried about the lack of income.

I moved out of my parent’s house. What better time to get your own apartment than one week after you quit your job for the next three years? Who needs furniture? Who needs towels and plates to eat on? Well, apparently I did, along with pretty much everything else that fills a home. Ikea was my best friend, as was my mom's kitchen hand-me-downs. I skimped by for four months until the wedding and then things were a lot easier. Thanks everyone for the finer things in life, like a toaster and flatware to eat with.

I started a new life in a new city - where I didn't know a sole. Chris, my parents and my brother helped me move to Lubbock, but after they left, I realized that I was all alone. I no longer looked forward to the weekends (first, because I didn't know anyone to hang out with, and second, because it just meant time to catch up at school). Luckily, I found a great church family that took me in as if I was one of theirs...and now I am one of theirs! God truly blesses those who are faithful.

I started (and finished) my first year of law school. Just ask any attorney or law student about their first year of law school and they will at the least give you a sour grimace or a downcast look of bitter recollection, and some may even throw out a few curse words. Law school takes three years, and the first year is infamous for being one of the lowest of all low points in one's life. I have never worked so hard in my life. Of course, what other result could be expected from taking 60 over-achieving, academically gifted adults, putting them in one class, and telling them they must fight for one of five available A's, with the majority relegated to C's scarring their previously unblemished academic records? Let the competition begin. When I found myself and my husband sitting in front of our computers at 11:56 p.m., continuously hitting the refresh button on internet explorer, waiting for the class registration screen for next year to appear, I realized that every aspect of law school is a competition. I took my last final this past Thursday and what followed can only be described as a feeling of true liberation. Finally, I'm no longer a 1L (slang for first year law student). I have left the crazy learning curve and grading curve behind me!

I married my best friend. Whenever I tell my professors or other people at school that I got married during the Christmas break between the fall and spring semester of my first year of law school, they react with astonishment. I must admit, it was quite an accomplishment, so much so that I was tempted to put it on my resume before I applied for internships for this summer. But the insanity of the timing in no way means that I regret it. It was by far the best decision I've ever made. The wedding was fantastic. In fact, I loved my wedding dress so much that I’ve actually found myself trying to think of places where I could wear it just one more time (an unsuccessful waste of time so far). And now that the wedding is behind me, I’m finding that married life is so much better than that big party that started it all

As I look forward to what the next year holds, I know that I can handle it. I have God on my side, in addition to a supportive husband, family and friends. Besides, if I can do what I did in the last year and survive, the next year should be a piece of cake (knock on wood).

Month Four

Been married for four months. Highlights from month four include.....

Hmmm....

Ummm....

Well, let's see...

Oh, I know...

So, apparently month four has been a low point. This past Tuesday I found out Chris is going to a benefit dinner this weekend with some guy friend, as his "guest." That's when I realized that I've spent so much time at the library that I almost forgot that I have a husband and my husband almost forgot I was real. But I am totally going to make up for it during month five. Yep, finals will be over and the newlyweds will return to newlywed bliss.

Spring Time

Tulips are my favorite.

Month Three: Sticking to My Guns

Three months of marriage under my belt now. The following are two rules I imposed from the start:

1. Chris may not fart in front of Kim. (And Kim would never fart in front of Chris, because as Heather knows, Kim does not fart).

2. Chris and Kim will not use the restroom in front of each other.

These rules have been strained by the fact that we have only one bathroom and sometimes I really need to pee when Chris is taking his sweet time shaving and doing other man things. Furthermore, Chris was confused as to the definition of "fart." He is now aware that it includes both audible and inaudible gas passing.

I am happy to report that except for one uncomfortably smelly incident that prompted the clarification on the definition of a fart, these rules are still intact and abided by.

April Fools - On Myself!

My last class of the day is located down a long corridor, one side of the hall lined with class room doors, the other side lined with tables and chairs for studying. As I was walking to class yesterday, I saw my friend sitting at one the tables. We were actually partners in a competition starting later that evening, so I stopped and told her I had class but that I would meet up with her afterwards to get ready for our competition. After I got out of class, I noticed that my friend was still sitting at the same table. Her backside was facing me as I walked down the hall, but I knew it was her because of her blonde hair, her size and posture, and her black suit jacket. As I approached her I gave into a last minute impulse to take advantage of the opportunity to startle her - a little innocent fun on April 1st. As I quietly leaned in toward her, I quickly blurted out, “Boo!” Her whole body jumped and she quickly turned around to see who was behind her. And that’s when I saw her face and realized this was not my friend; this was a complete stranger who just so happened to look a lot like my friend from behind. Oops – April Fools on me!

Trip to Carlsbad

At the Living Desert Zoo
Carlsbad Cavern Entrance
The "Big Room"
Cave thing
Nasty Motel in Carlsbad
The Zoo Entrance

Exactly what type of martial arts?

I went to the book store this past Saturday night. I headed straight for the magazine racks to find the travel section. First I found the bridal magazines. I stopped and reminisced for a second, just long enough to remember that while that was an exciting phase of my life, I'm happy that it only happens once. Next I found the do-it-yourself remodel magazines, followed by the boring financial magazines, and then the nerdy gamer magazines. I rounded the corner to the next shelf in hopes of finding the travel section, but instead I found a whole rack of magazines wrapped in dark plastic bags. I quickly turned around, embarrassed that I was on the "dirty" isle. As I tried to find something interesting in the do-it-yourself remodel section, I noticed a man in the dirty section. He had three or four magazines tucked under his arm. He kept picking up different plastic wrapped magazines, holding them up to the light and trying to move the plastic around to see more than just the title. He looked like a serious shopper - like I do when I stand in the cereal isle at the grocery store reading the nutrition label on the side of each box, carefully inspecting the amount of sugar in a serving. As this man carefully inspected each of his selections, his phone rang. It must have been his wife because after he answered he said, "oh, I'm, umm, umm, you know, umm, looking for, umm, a martial arts magazine." As he was saying this, he placed all his favorites back on the shelf, glancing around to see if anyone was watching him. That's when our eyes met. It was an awkward split second of eye contact - my trying not to smile, his silent acknowledgment that I was completely aware of what was going on – and then he left. He never did find a martial arts magazine, but I don’t think he really wanted to.

At the park

Month Two

A week ago Wednesday, I woke-up at 4 a.m. to a shaking bed. The Texas flu epidemic had finally infiltrated my home via my husband. As Chris lay next to me shaking uncontrollably, all I could think was, "I don't want to get sick." Although I diligently washed my hands, drank Air-borne like tea, and made Chris sleep on the sofa for the next three days, it all seemed like a meager attempt whenever the sound of his nasty cough would fill our tiny 600 square feet of shared air. Somehow, though, I didn't get sick. Month two of married life has taught me that maybe I have the mom gene after all; I can care for my sick family while avoiding their germs.

Nerd, Dork, it's all the same

Today I decided to try out a new floor of the library. Yes, I know, my life is boring. The big news is that I ventured out of my usual cubby hole in the basement in an attempt to find a warmer place to strain my eyes and wear away the keys on my laptop. The spot I picked was empty at first: four wide tables, end to end, occupied by just my self. But after a couple of hours the empty chairs around me filled with eight men studying for the bar exam, who clearly claimed this area as their territory long ago. So here I am, one lone first year female student surrounded by eight third year male students. As they skim the pages of their review books, I am reminded of when I was studying for the LSAT.
I took a 16 week Kaplan course to prepare me for the exam. I had a stack of books almost 2 feet high that I would carry to the Kaplan study center to review. The routine became mundane…practice problems, timed section practice, strategy review, practice tests, and then more practice problems, timed section practice, strategy review, and yet another practice test. As the exam date drew closer, the stress within me became more palpable. Finally, it was two days until the exam. I made my way to the Kaplan study center to take one last practice test before relaxing my brain for the next couple of days. As I sat down to start the exam, my nerves were at an all time high. This was it, the last time I would open these study books. I was nervous about my preparedness for the real exam but also excited at the prospect of putting this phase of my life behind me. Toward the end of the practice exam, a large group of high school kids entered the room. They sat down and were waiting for a Kaplan proctor to administer a practice SAT. Most of the kids were quietly talking to each other, but this one kid…oh, this one kid…he was loud, and he was annoying, and he was sitting next to a T.V. Trying to be funny and garner the attention of his classmates, this kid grabbed the T.V. remote and began turning the T.V. on and off, on and off, on and off, on and off. The sound of the T.V. snow – that noise the T.V. makes when there's no reception – was too much for my frazzled nerves. I turned around and looked at this kid; without flinching and in an accusatory tone I asked him, "Are you using this T.V?" The chatter stopped and the T.V. snow filled the room. He sheepishly replied, "No." I reached over and slammed my hand down on the T.V.'s power button and rhetorically asked, "Then why are you playing with it?" Without giving him time to reply I turned back to my exam and didn't say anything else. The room was silent until I finished my practice exam and got up to leave.
Now, as I sit here surrounded by these men quietly studying their bar review books, I wonder if they are annoyed by this lowly first year student, hacking away at her computer keys, flipping through stacks of papers, and interrupting their routine?

Baking

I baked this pound cake...it looked so pretty and it tasted really good. Just call me Susie Homemaker.

Month One

This coming Sunday will make four weeks that Chris and I will have been married. As we march toward this relatively small land-mark in our married life, I find humor in reflecting on the adjustments living together has necessitated.

First of all, we are newly-weds in the truest sense of that term. I'm sure our neighbors are tired of seeing us flirtingly race each up the stairs on a regular basis. Chris does the dishes each day and cleans on Sundays so that I can study or relax. I cook dinner, trying out new recipes or requests from Chris (the latest was a fresh pot of home-made beans). The other night I burned broccoli, my first burned meal, and Chris just scraped-off the burned parts and ate it anyways. Oh, the love and bliss that fills our home, everyday, all day, until...bedtime.

Chris likes to go to bed between 10 and 10:30. I usually go to bed between 11:30 and 12. It's not fun going to bed an hour later, rummaging around in the dark to find your pajamas and set the alarm. Then when you crawl into bed you find out that your loving husband, in the innocence of his sleep, has claimed the middle of the bed, relegating you to the small space between his knobby-knees and the edge of the mattress. Fortunately, because I no longer spend an hour each night talking to Chris on the phone, and because I've stopped watching late night TV, I've been able to move my bedtime to coincide with my husband's. I get more sleep and I no longer waste time watching re-runs of Friends and Everybody Loves Raymond.

Since we both go to bed at the same time now, we often spend 15 or 20 minutes talking to each other as we lay in the darkness waiting to fall asleep. Just last night Chris made a comment about this trend. Those few minutes are the closest thing we have our hour-long phone conversations of the past. Don't get me wrong here: I'm not complaining that we don't talk to each other all day, because we do talk to each other during the day. During the day, however, we are doing other things as we communicate. As we lay in bed, there are no distractions.

The other night, as we were laying in the darkness, we got into a somewhat heated discussion about why we wake up multiple times during the night. Chris is of the opinion that the bed is too small, and thus we are constantly "touching" each other. I, on the other hand, believe the problem is that our blanket is too small, and therefore, we are constantly playing tug-of-war. In an effort to prove myself right, I decided we would sleep "Norwegian Style." Norwegian style means that rather than sharing one blanket, each of you has a separate blanket. At the time, I didn't know we were sleeping Norwegian style, but when my Norwegian friend at church explained to me that we were sleeping Norwegian style, I told Chris that he should not complain about the separate blankets because I was actually trying to "culture" him. Anyhoo, we've both decided that the blanket on our bed is too small, although Chris still believes that a bigger bed would also be beneficial. I think we need a bigger apartment first. Our 650 square feet can't accomodate both a king size bed and a home office.

As an alternative to the bigger bed, I have jokingly suggested that we get a smaller bed, adjust to that, and then our queen size bed will feel just right. For some reason Chris doesn't like that idea...

It's Saturday afternoon and I feel fabulous. Right now I'm sitting in our rental "cabin" in the Appalachian mountains in Blue Ridge, Georgia, which is about 100 miles north of Atlanta. As we left our lovely room at the W Hotel in Dallas on Monday morning, I was perplexed when I found out that we would be flying to Atlanta.

We landed in Atlanta just in time to make it into the city for a fancy dinner at the top of Atlanta's tallest building. We left the restuarant stuffed and awed by both the view and the food. Once we arrived at our cabin, I understood why we were in Georgia. It's gorgeous. What a wonderful way to spend the first week of married life.

We have sucessfully split our time between busy and relaxing activities. On the busy side, we went to the world's largest aquarium, which is located in Atlanta. We saw some beluga whales, some electric jelly fish and a giant tank home to over 55,000 fish, including a hammer head shark, 4 whale sharks and some black tip reef sharks. We also went to the World of Coca-Cola, a museum commerating the history of the world's most famous soda. The museum is cluttered with memorabelia and art, all dedicated to Coke. After watching a montage of Coca-Cola commercials from around the world, the consumerism of the place became a bit overwhelming - all I could say was something about how I really wanted a Dr. Pepper. But the best part was yet to come - the tasting room. There we filled our stomachs with different sodas from all over the world, only to discover that most of them are either the same as the ones we drink, or else they are really nasty. We also went for a lengthy hike one day and later drove into town to wander around historic blueridge.

On the relaxing side, we have thouroughly enjoyed our cabin. We have enjoyed the ping-pong and pool table, as well as the hot tub in the evenings. We finished a 1000-piece puzzle yesterday. The abundance of windows in the cabin allows us to enjoy the view of the river that runs by outside. We have watched half of season three of the office and have done plenty of sleeping-in. Chris was especially excited on Wednesday morning when we awoke to a blanket of snow. Since then the temperatures have warmed up and today is beautiful. Not sure what's on the agenda for tomorrow, but I am not looking forward to leaving on Monday. Too bad life isn't one big honeymoon...

Are we ready to get married?

This afternoon I finally called the insurance company to get some renter's insurance. Yes, I konw, I've been living in the apartment for 15 weeks now, but it's better to be late than never. I mentioned this to Chris over the phone this evening, and his reaction caught me off gaurd. "Renter's insurance," he said, "We don't need that." He then said something about how he was surprised that I bought insurance without asking him first, because he was certain that if he had bought something "substantial" without consulting me first, I would get mad at him. Thinking in my head that this is related to his desire to buy a Play Station 3 because he will "need it" when he moves out here, I tried to justify myself by explaining that insurance is somewhat of a necessity, and that it costs less than $20 a month. He just responded by saying that he was okay with what I had done, but he warned me that he now had the go ahead to go out and buy something that "costs $1,500." He said all of this in his sarcastic tone, so I figured he was just giving me a hard time. We continued talking about some wedding details, but in the back of my head I was thinking about the insurance and how now that I'm practically married, maybe I should have run this by him first. Was this my first lesson in learning to make joint decisions? As I mentioned something about the quote that I received from the florist today (don't even get me started on that), Chris casually responded, "Well, now I don't feel so guilty about buying a new transmission." What? A new transmission? I couldn't help but start laughing. I suddenly understood his reaction about the insurance - he was just getting me ready for what he had done. We had discussed getting him a new transmission, but never anything too serious, so I thought. Of course he denied that the insurance reaction had anything to do with the fact that he had yet to tell me about the new transmission he bought yesterday, but I'm not completely convinced. I guess this just proves that we both have something to learn about making joint decisions.

Not even married yet and already adjusting to "married life." Ha! Bring it on because I'm ready!

How to Find a Pawn Shop

When you're driving around some place you don't know so well and you think to yourself, "boy, I could really use a pawn shop right now, but I don't know where one is located," here's a fail proof plan of action (fail proof based on one personal experience):

1) As you approach a red light examine the cars stopped in the lane next to you

2) Pass-up the SUV filled with women and the fancy old-man car driven by a well-dressed man.

3) Ah! Stop next to the dirty, beat-up turquoise Ford Escort driven by a man who doesn't seem to comb his hair or shave on a daily basis.

4) Roll down your window and make a motion at the Ford Escort (Bonus if the man has to move his arm in a circular motion to roll down his window once you have his attention)

5) Say, "Hey man, do you know where I can find a pawn shop around here?"

6) Watch his eyes light up as he says, "Yea, there's one on the otherside of the freeway, not far from here."

It works.

Target

Due to an unfortunate nationwide malfunction with the Target wedding registry, Chris and I received quite a few duplicates at my wedding shower a few weeks ago. Knowing that I didn't have gift receipts for all of the duplicates and that Target requires a receipt for returns, I knew that convincing the local Lubbock Target to correct for the nationwide mistake could require some forcefulness on my part. Preparing for a fight, Chris and I emptied the trunk of my car and made our way to the customer service counter. As it turned out, the deficient returns were the least of our problems. The problem was our lovely toaster oven, meticulously selected for its unique proportions, exquisite color, and modest size. Upon unpacking the toaster oven, we realized the little baking tray that fits perfectly inside it was bent to the point of uselessness. So we loaded it in the trunk with our extra shower curtain, two mixers, two sets of Pyrex bake ware and two sequence games.

The lady who got in line just behind us at that Target customer service counter instantly became inpatient upon hearing me explain that we did not have receipts for our huge cart of returns. She began gripping at the man working the customer service and continued to complain to other customers in a loud and offensive tone the whole time we were there. Luckily, the man behind the counter knew exactly how to do our returns, and after crediting us for the duplicate merchandise, we began to ask the man what we could do about the toaster oven and the bent tray. The grumpy lady behind us commenced to complain more as he explained our options. In an effort to streamline the process, we told the man behind the counter to just return the toaster oven and we would use the money to buy a replacement from the shelves. The whole transaction, from start to finish, took no more than five minutes. The lady behind us was just a grouch.

Leaving the customer service counter, we were glad to get away from that grouchy lady. We were not glad; however, to discover that our good taste in toaster oven preference is shared by others. The only toaster oven like the one we wanted was the display model. Not wanting to purchase the display model, we removed the tray and returned to the customer service counter. Thankfully, the grouchy lady had moved-on, presumably to complain to other people about insignificant annoyances. Not so thankfully, our friendly, competent, helpful customer service man had gone home. We explained to the new guy that we had just returned the toaster oven behind him and that we wanted to take it home with the tray from the display model. He replied by telling us that the display model was not for sale. "No," we said, "We don't want to buy the display model; we just want to take the little tray out of it." He said the display wasn't real and that we could not have it. Again, we explained that we did not want the display model; we only wanted the little tray. He said we could not have the little tray because it was not real. At this point Chris held up the tray and waved it around and said, "Yes, it is real, see, here it is." But the tangible proof was not good enough; the tray was not real, therefore we could not have it. As we returned the "fake" tray to the display model, Chris decided that we were going to go home with our toaster oven and a good baking tray. He went back to the customer service counter and told the guy that we wanted our toaster back since there was no replacement. After a serious complication about how to do this since we didn't have a receipt, which involved frustrating the new manager on duty and attempting to call the man who had helped us, we finally got our toaster oven back. Then, as I walked over to the checkout lines to pay for the rest of our stuff, Chris took our bent tray to trade it out for the "fake" one in the display model. As Chris pushed the cart out the doors with our toaster oven on top, and the new baking tray thrown haphazardly inside it, the little baking tray slid out of the box and onto the floor, as if to say, "don't take me..." Chris was determined though; he grabbed the tray and quickly exited the store not looking back.

And now that we have our toaster oven and a good tray, I'm sure the tray will work fine, even though it's "not real."