Beach Clean Up

Sunday morning Ryan and I participated in North Coast Church's Weekend of Service. What happened is North Coast closed down services this weekend - no church. WE LEFT THE BUILDING. Ryan and I signed up for the beach clean up, Sunday morning shift (since we would have went to church during that time anyway). We met at the beach at 8am and cleaned about 2 miles of beach in 4 hours. There was a group of about 30 of us (young ones to old ones). Someone from the church came out before we started and took a group photo, so once they load them on the site I will put it up on here. Ryan and I were trash champions. We filled up 2 garbage bags full. We scaled the walls and got so much trash and random things (a chair, lots of balloons in the kelp - we called them kelp parties, cans, bottles,metal grates, etc). It was sad to see how people treat the beaches. At points I felt like there was so much trash (lots of little pieces of Styrofoam and stuff) that it was overwhelming, but Ryan would remind me 'At least it's one less piece out there'. Anyhow, the Weekend of Service was a tremendous success! We made an enormous impact on our neighbors and organizations across North County! One thing is certain- no one felt unneeded!

One year ago

One year ago (yesterday), I graduated from the University of Michigan. It is hard to believe that a year has already passed. I have done so much and yet so little in the past year. In the past year I packed up and moved across country, held a summer job at the University of San Diego, sold my car, bought my second car (obviously my '95 Ranger was not going to make it across country), interviewed for many jobs and finally got my first 'real job' doing the payroll at a construction company, rented my first apartment, lived on my own for the first time, started paying student loans, and so many more things. At the same time it feels like nothing is different (of course it takes me a few more minutes to get back to my parents house than from Ann Arbor, but really nothing else). I don't know what it is, but it seems like April 29, 2006 was just yesterday and at the same time ages ago.

7 'Carlee' Facts

Tami, my High School Varsity Soccer coach and amazing woman, has just 'tagged me'. I guess what I am supposed to do is share 7 facts about me that few or no people know about me and then choose 7 other people to do the same (I know now all of them have blogs, so feel free to leave them as comments on here or send them as an email to me and the 7 next people).

1. I put ketchup on cottage cheese (okay, I put ketchup on most things, but I would assume people would know that about me, but probably not the specifics of exactly what I put it on). Most people are grossed out by it when they see it - while I was in college there were people on staff with me that would not watch me eat when I had the ketchup on the cottage cheese because it made them sick (YUM KETCHUP ON PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING IS GREAT)!.

2. I am afraid of the dark. I have always had this fear. I used to check under my bed and in my closet before I went to bed, just in case someone had gotten into the house and were hiding (don't ask me what I would have done if I would have ever found someone in the bathtub after looking behind the shower curtain).

3. I love watching sports. It is a stereo type that girls don't know anything about sports, but honestly I love watching them. Saturdays during college football are my favorite (sorry for anyone who has to put up with me watching or talking about it all the time).

4. I hate shopping. Another stereotype that I must break is the one that says all girls love to shop. I think it is because I don't like spending money, I don't like trying on clothes, and I usually don't like buying things that are not essential to my life.

5. I don't remember most of my childhood. I am not sure if it is the fibromyalgia or what, but it seems like my long term memory is failing, and failing quickly (which is another fear that no one knows about - I am afraid of forgetting everything... Like looking at people and not remembering I even know them). There are a key memories that I have (either because I am constantly reminded of them or from pictures), but even those I am not sure if I 'remember' them or if my mind is just trying to fill in the blanks from what people have told me.

6. I hate the phone. I hate talking on it, I hate hearing it ring, I just hate using it. I am sorry if I have never called you back, or have emailed you instead of calling you. I don't know where it comes from, maybe because I feel as though I have nothing interesting to say or I hate awkward silences, who knows.

7. If people said one thing about me, I want them to say that somehow I made their world/ day/ minute a little bit happier. I love making people smile, because SMILING IS MY FAVORITE! Although I may not be happy all the time (or even most of the time for that fact), I hate seeing others down and out. If there is anything I can ever do to make you smile, you name it and I will try to do it!

Hope you enjoyed learning a few tid bits about me that you may have not known before, and now my 7 people I choose are:

1. Ryan - even though I am sure I know most of them, maybe your blog fans would like to see an update once in a while :)
2. Michelle - I know you read my blog and would love to see the great things you could come up with for this
3. Glenn - I love reading your blog and feeling caught up in the CrossRoads world and I'm sure your 'fans' would love to hear some interesting facts about you too
4. Mom - the most amazing woman I know, the more you know about her the more you have to love her
5. Kevin - your lack of blogging tends to make me sad (just kidding), and I would love to learn more about the inside workings of your creative mind
6. Kyle - I doubt you will do it, but would love to hear them (my brother is often 'too cool' for me and my lameness I guess :) )
7. YOU - I am not sure who all reads my blog (the blog started as a way to relieve some down time, so I don't even know who all I have actually told about it), but I would love to hear from you!

The Park

WE HAD A BLAST AT DISNEY'S CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE!! I have posted the 80+ photos and once Ryan sends me the ones from his camera I will load those too (check under "My Photos"). Here are a few!!

Ryan and I were so excited (too excited to sweep) so we were JUMPING FOR JOY:


Ryan and I were taking photos and one of the Disney workers offered to take our photo... She made Ryan have the MICKEY EARS and we didn't even know until we looked later... MY FAVORITE PHOTO:

Ryan and I waited to see MINNIE:

We went inside the studio to see a bunch of different things and this was the wall before leaving:

Changes

Sorry for changing up the blog format again, I get slightly ADD when things aren't new and changing frequently - hope you like it :)

Cure for Coughing

A young man had a terrible cold and couldn’t stop coughing so he went to the nearby drug store to buy some cough medicine. Not knowing which brand was the best and with all of them claiming to do different things, he asked the guy’s opinion that was working behind the counter at the pharmacy.

It was the employees first day on the job and he really didn’t know which one was better and didn’t even know if any of them would even help the customer but the pharmacist was extremely busy and he didn’t want to bother him, not to mention that he wanted to impress the pharmacist since it was his first day.

He went searching the aisles of different medications and brought back a bottle with no label on it, handed it to the customer, and told him to drink the entire bottle right away. The customer thanked the new employee, paid for the bottle, and drank the entire content before leaving the store so that he could get immediate relief from all the coughing, and headed home. The pharmacist was impressed that his new help was able to handle the situation on his own and walked over to him and asked him what he gave the customer to take care for his coughing problem.

“Laxative,” he replied.

“What!” exclaimed the pharmacist. “You can’t give him laxatives for a cold!”

The guy says, “Well I’ll bet that he’ll be afraid to cough now! So his coughing problem is taken care of!!”

Grandma Soomoe

My mom is a grandmother of some robins. Hehe. There is a robin that made her next on the wreath on my parents front door. My dad was being an artist and took some shots through the door while the mama bird was there. Here are some of the cool shots (check out the rest under 'My Photos'):


The nest on the front wreath:

The eggs in the nest, looks like 3 grandchildren there:

A close up of the bird keeping its eggs warm through the cracked door:

California Adventures

Ok, so I know I talked about going to California Adventure earlier in the month and it FELL THROUGH, but now I am serious! I went and picked up Ryan and I's tickets at lunch, so I physically have them in my purse. I am so excited about this weekend. HURRAY!! If you don't know what the park is, here is the link:
http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/en_US/parks/landing?name=DisneysCaliforniaAdventureLandingPage
I love theme parks, well not Universal (bitter feelings, grrrrr), and get all gitty like a little kid when I get to go to them (check out the Disney pictures from the summer under 'My Photos' link). I am sure Ryan and I will take plenty of photos, hopefully we will get to see some fun characters on our journey!! California Adventures is next to Disneyland but is a separate park - it has The Tower of Terror, Rockin' California Screamin' and many other things (check out all the fun things at the site). We are going to go up there Saturday. WHOO HOO!!!

Go Stones!

I'm sure you all know, but for those of you living in a box, Pistons are up in the Pistons/ Magic series 2-0. Game 3 is tonight (well 5pm California time). If you didn't know, Chauncey is my uncle, and man is he tearing it up.

"Billups has 43 points and 19 assists in two games, taking advantage of mismatches, avoiding double teams and finding open teammates."

Check out the rest of the article on THE BIG SHOT here:

http://www.nba.com/games/20070426/DETORL/preview.html

New Favorite

Last week I went grocery shopping for the week. Normally I stick with what I know, some vegetable soups (check carefully, some do have meat broths), vegetarian chilli's, noodles, granola, yogurts, peanut butter, bread, milk, carrots, and apples (or something along those lines). If you have never been vegetarian or been allergic to something in common foods then you probably have never run into having to look at the ingredients of everything you pick up, but I have come across that problem lately. Even if things are 'vegetable' options (such as soups, sauces, etc) many of them have meat of some sort in them. On my last grocery shopping expedition I decided to look in the packages rice section. They were running a special on the Uncle Ben's pre-made rices. I found a variety that has no meat in it and bought 2 bags, just in case I needed something to eat one night and was sick of my normal options. Last night I didn't feel like chili or soup or pasta and remembered I had this rice in my cupboard. I made the rice and man, it is my new favorite I think. It is called Garden Vegetable. You just squeeze the rice around in the package to break it up a little, tear a little slit in the top to help vent the steam and microwave it for 90 seconds. I would highly recommend it. You should try it. It does have quite a bit of sodium in it, so if you are watching your slat intake I would try the rice in small amounts, but other than that it is pretty healthy for you. I also made a can of corn and a can of peas and added those in for added veggies. If you are ever looking for a quick side dish for a meal, (or are like me and use it as the meal itself) I would pick up a package from the store. Let me know how you like it.

Button

Thank you everyone who helped with voting for Ryan's button. He didn't come in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, but he did make the team (which is top 20 out of the 300 some designs that were entered). Check out the website to see the other ones that made it. CONGRATS RY!

http://busybeaver.net/soandso/

Kashi

Yummy. I love organic foods, fruits, veggies, etc. When I was younger I wasn't too keen on 'healthy foods'. I didn't like nuts (the smell of them made me gag), vegetables were gross, and I was a pretty picky eater. Nowadays I love veggies, nuts, and will try most things (without meat of course). A great cereal I have run across is KASHI. I would recommend trying it if you haven't. Also, if you visit their website you can get a free sample, so you don't even have to pay to try it.

http://kashi.com/

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do :)

Lies we tell ourselves

An article I found... Pretty interesting... Check out the full article to read the little synopsis with each 'lie'... http://diet.ivillage.com/issues/iemotional/0,,b85rwsrc,00.html

Hips Don't Lie
10 Food Fibs That Make You Fat

1) I deserve it

2) I've saved calories from skipping breakfast.

3) It's free!

4) It would be rude to refuse

5) It's not the same without [popcorn, hotdog..]

6) Supersize and save!

7) It would be wasteful not to.

8) But it's a party, we've got to celebrate.

9) Just this once won't hurt...

10) It's too complicated/expensive to eat right

Dining Out

DINING OUT FOR LIFE® SAN DIEGO EAT, DRINK AND BE CARING!

Join us on Thursday, April 26, 2007, for Dining Out for Life®!

Dining Out for Life® is an international fundraising event involving the generous participation of restaurants throughout the country. Dining Out for Life® is making its way to San Diego in collaboration with The Center.

In exchange for pledging 25% of their day’s food and liquor sales, restaurants receive promotional materials and are listed in a city-wide marketing and advertising campaign in an effort to increase customer traffic on Thursday, April 26, 2007.

The funds raised will benefit The Center's HIV/AIDS prevention programs for Youth & Latinos and direct services for those living with HIV/AIDS.

A great cause. Check out the site to see restaurants or other cities across the country taking part in this international fundraiser:

http://www.diningoutforlife.com/flash.php

Health Updates

Just wanted to give a quick update. Yesterday my grandpa went to MCO (that's what I will call it - Medical COLLEGE of Ohio) to have the tests run and have his surgery. After they ran the tests the doctor concluded that he didn't need to have the surgery because the artery was only 40-50% blocked. It is something that they will need to watch, but not something that will need surgical attention right now. He is excited, obviously not very many people look forward to surgery. In other news Ryan went to the dentist this morning and they told him that the spot in his gums is nothing to worry about. They think it may just be an infection that was there when his baby teeth were in and that just been there forever. They told him to keep an eye on it, so he scheduled an appointment for a couple months to make sure everything is okay.

Thanks for your prayers everyone!

Ryan's Art

Last year, for Ryan's Senior Project he put on an art show to show off all of his work. He put some of his art up on the wall of a building at UofM that they were planning on tearing down to make residence halls. They let him paint right on the walls since they weren't going to use the building anymore. Ryan just got an email from a girl that is still in school and she said that she walks by the building (the Frieze Building) every day and now they are starting to tear it down. She took some photos and sent them to Ry because now HIS ART IS ON DISPLAY FOR ALL OF ANN ARBOR TO VIEW!!

Oh Monroe

I found this article in the Monroe Evening News this afternoon:

These days, 14-year-old Joel Keely of Monroe is working odd jobs to pay off an $85 ticket issued by police earlier this month.

His crime? Riding his skateboard on a downtown Monroe sidewalk.

Continue reading the article : http://monroenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070423/NEWS01/104230041

Sometimes I wonder why society cares about some things and not others. The mother of the kid that was fined brought up a good point in the article. She mentioned that the kids were out for exercise and they got ticketed. This made me think. Why don't we ticket kids that stay in front of the TV for excessive hours? I was surprised to read that they will even be ticketing people on their bikes or on Rollerblades. At first I thought this might just be some sort of discrimination, thinking that kids on skateboards must be bad kids, but when I read that they will be ticketing people on bikes and Rollerblades I just had to chuckle. With all the problems in the world, in the country, in Monroe, we are cracking down on people exercising too close to business doors? It isn't even like they were being rowdy and doing tricks near cars, they were using their skateboard as a mode of transportation. The excuse was that the sidewalks weren't 'made for that' - then WHAT WERE THEY MADE FOR? Some things still amaze me.

Dirty Diapers

One of the girls that I work with, Amy, is pregnant. She is not due until June, but she looks like she is almost ready to pop :) (in a nice way of course). Nicole, one of the girls at work, threw Amy a baby shower on Saturday so I went that to go to around noon. Normally I don't enjoy the shower games that go on, but this shower was pretty fun. We played a game that Leah called 'Guess what the baby ate'. Now if you have a bad stomach I would stop reading here. The way we played, Lead smashed up 6 different kinds of chocolate candies in 6 different diapers (yes, they looked like dirty diapers). The funny part was watching everyone else participate. We would try and smell the candies, look real close, etc. It was a lot of fun, and if I ever get copies of the pictures I will post them cause I'm sure they look hilarious, a bunch of women with their noses in diapers. We also did a crossword puzzle with information about Amy and Damien (her baby boy's name). I actually won a prize, guessing how many Skittles were in a bottle. I walked away from the shower with a smile on my face and a picture frame in hand, so all-in-all it was a good shower.

Go Wings!

So this past weekend, in the middle of all the other excitement I had, I watched a lot of Detroit sports. Normally, being in San Diego, no one broadcasts hockey, but since it is the Play Offs I have been able to see a few of the games. Saturday I watched the last 5 minutes or so of the Wings game (I was watching the end of the Bulls/ Heat game, hurray for the Bulls taking Game 1), and boy, I have been missing hockey after seeing that. If you didn't watch it, maybe you can catch it on ESPN highlights or something but it was gruesome (and I LOVED it). Last night I was watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition (my Sunday routine) and on the commercials I would flip to the Wings Game (they were showing it on the Versus station, who knows what that is). I stayed up past my normal bedtime (9pm, haha) and watched the Wings win the first round of the play offs in the SECOND OVERTIME. Oh how I miss HOCKEYTOWN!

Favorite Commercial

This past weekend I was trying to show Ryan my FAVORITE commercial and I could never find it. Today I broke down and went to You Tube to find it. I hope you all enjoy MY FAVORITE COMMERCIAL!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkvhnRAd4V0

The Festival

Ryan and I walked down to the Roots & Folk Festival on Saturday and Sunday. It was fun. We chilled in the park and watched Rails & Trails (a folk band) and ate some Italian Ice. We also walked around and found TomCat Courtney, who was a really funny man. It seemed like his songs were made up on the spot, with whatever is the first thing that comes into his mind. Everyone should check out Ryan's blog because he put up video of both of the bands we stopped to watch. It was an entertaining little festival, especially for free and a block away from my house :) Yay for Normal Heights!!


TomCat set up on a stage on a side street:



Rails & Trails set up in the park:

The Game

Ryan and I went to the Shockwave game on Saturday night. It was actually a lot of fun. We are going to join the 'Fan Club' and see if we can get some more free tickets, maybe we will get in on the ground level :). Ryan caught a ball after one of the touchdowns. I took my photo with "Fluffy" the clown. This is the first season for San Diego to have a National Indoor Football League team and it was the second home game. Look under 'My Photos' for the full album, but enjoy these for the time being. Also, Ryan took video on my camera but I don't have the program on my computer at work to download it so I will post it once I make my way up to Ryan's and put it on his computer.

Earth Day

Apr. 22, a day to celebrate the environment. The first Earth Day was organized in 1970 to promote the ideas of ecology, encourage respect for life on earth, and highlight growing concern over pollution of the soil, air, and water. The original day had participants and celebrants in two thousand colleges and universities, roughly ten thousand primary and secondary schools, and hundreds of communities across the United States. Earth Day is now observed in 140 nations with outdoor performances, exhibits, street fairs, and television programs that focus on environmental issues.

What will you do differently on Earth Day to promote the environment?

Roots & Folk Festival

For the last week or so I have noticed a sign on Adams Avenue (the road I take on the way home from work once I get off the express way) that says Adams will be closed Friday @ midnight until Sunday afternoon. The reason it gave - Roots & Folk Festival. Hmmm. I don't know a lot about folk or roots music, but why not check it out. I looked up the website this morning and it sounds like it could be entertaining to see.

The Adams Avenue Business Association proudly presents the 34th Annual Adams Avenue Roots & Folk Festival to be held Saturday and Sunday, April 21 & 22, 2007. Last year, over 40,000 visitors attended this FREE two-day festival. This is truly an event that provides both enjoyment and cultural enrichment for the whole family.

The Adams Avenue Roots and Folk Festival focuses on the promotion, preservation and performance of local and nationally touring musical acts that reflect the rich folk roots and traditions of music styles such as Blues, vintage swing, Appalachian, Norteño, country boogie, old-time string music, cowboy yodeling, Western, Cajun, Celtic, etc.

There will be food, music, dancing, etc and it is all free and about a block away from my house. I have a baby shower to go to Saturday afternoon, but I figured I would check it out afterwards (before the Shockwave game) or maybe Sunday afternoon. I'm excited to check it out - maybe I'll take a workshop on Folk dancing, hehe, or maybe I'll just be an observer.

Here is the website if you would be interested in stopping by it for yourself: http://adamsaveonline.com/RootsFestival/default.htm

http://www.normalheights.org/events/rootsfestival/2007/

One Billion Bulbs

Imagine the possibilities. Imagine if people all over the world mobilized to replace one billion standard incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient compact fluorescent (CFL) light bulbs. What would that mean? It would mean that those people would save money each month on their electricity bill. It would mean they would save enough energy to light tens of millions of homes for a year. It would mean the prevention of greenhouse gases equivalent to the annual emissions of millions of cars.

I was searching around on friends of friends blogs and I ran into this cause.

Save Money - Compact fluorescent light bulbs typically consume 65% - 75% less electricity than regular light bulbs. And they last up to 10 times longer than regular bulbs. The bottom line is that you'll save money by replacing standard light bulbs with CFL bulbs.
Help the Environment - Most electricity in the U.S. is produced by coal-fired power plants. The problem is that for every kilowatt hour of electricity generated by a coal-fired plant, the EPA estimates that 1.43 lbs of greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere. By switching to energy-saving CFL light bulbs, you lessen greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

If you don't already have compact fluorescent light bulbs, I would recommend going out and buying some and changing the bulbs around your house, dorm room, office, wherever you have access to light bulbs. Also, you can record your purchases of the CFL bulbs and show the progress of the change across the country. I know that most of you are either in California or Michigan that look at this blog, and both states are at about 70% of the goal reached SO LETS MAKE CHANGE!

Check out the site if you get a free minute: http://onebillionbulbs.com/

Lacking

My mind is blank. I posted 7 times yesterday and I must have used up all my material because on my lunch break I am unable to think of a single topic that must be covered in my blog... HMMMMMM... Nothing is coming to mind.





I am sure everyone was concerned, so I should probably update you all on the winner of the egg decorating contest... It was me. We had 3 voters weigh in, 2 voted for #1 (which was mine) and then 1 person (RYAN) voted for both #1 and #3 (his), which means his vote cancelled itself out and #1 turns out to be #1! Thanks for your comments on the decorations.

Well, anywho, I guess I will try to think of other interesting info to post, but currently I'm fresh out!

Scary and Sad

As more information is coming out about the shooter in the VA Tech massacre it is getting more and more scary and sad. I am not necessarily saying that I am scared, but I am saying that in general it is scary and extremely sad to see how disturbed individuals can be. I pray for those family affected by this senseless act, but also I am drawn to pray for those individuals that have anger and frustrations pent up inside and pray that they can find someone they can open up to and release their emotions in a healthy way. I am sure that there are people out there that may be thinking about doing something similar or something harmful and I just pray that they can see how senseless this is and that they can find some sort of comfort in life. It is hard to show people that are so caught up in the negative that there IS positive in life and that things can change, but I pray that there will be people in those individuals lives that will reach out to them and help them through these difficult times. I'm not saying that everyone knows someone that is a murderer, but I am suggesting to everyone to reach out to those around you that may be going through something, that may seem a little down on their luck. The people that are the hardest to reach out to might be those who need it the most. Just something to think about...

Here is the story I was reading about the shooter that made me start thinking about this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/18/us/18cnd-virginia.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Shockwave

On Saturday, Ryan and I will be heading to Cox Arena to watch the San Diego Shockwave Game (http://www.sandiegoshockwave.com/index.php). The Shockwave are San Diego's NIFL team (National INDOOR Football League). I got 2 free tickets through Fox 6 (the TV station that I watch for news and such), through their 'points program' (in the morning they give you a code word and also have trivia about what they talked about and once you get enough points you can 'buy' things or enter intro drawings and whatnot). I have never been to an indoor football game, but I am sure it will be entertaining. From the looks of it the points get pretty high. The TV station is giving out quite a few tickets so I am thinking that when we get there the arena won't be that full and we can move down closer to the action (the tickets we have right now are the 'nose bleed'). I will probably post some photos I'm sure, if nothing else it will be a story to tell. If anyone has ever been to an indoor football game and has some suggestions (like silly signs we could make or anything), feel free to let me know :).

Peter McClurg

Okay, his name isn't Peter, it's Ryan, but I guess you can call it a term of endearment, haha. Anywho, I wanted to fill you all in on some good news from Ryan (since he lacks in the blogging at times). Tomorrow Ryan will be taking an interview with the surfboard company Rusty (http://www.rusty.com/). The company is located in Irvine, which is about 50 minutes north, but he thought that he would take the interview anyway. He would be working with the art director and this could be really awesome for his career, since it is in the field he is interested in and all. His interview is @ 2pm (PST) if you would all be willing to shoot up a little prayer for him. In other news, not so happy, he had a dentist appointment today and they took some x-rays, like they normally do. On one of his teeth there is a white mass in the x-ray and the dentist isn't positive on what it is so he is having Ryan come back in to the office on Tuesday to meet with the surgeon to talk about what it could be or something. We are hoping that it is nothing to worry about, but Ryan is a WORRY WORT, so please pray for his nerves during this time since they are always at all time HIGHS. I will keep you updated (since he probably won't) and thanks in advance for your prayers.

Madre

So I was clicking around on the CrossRoads' website this afternoon and ran across this picture. I thought I would show you all... MY BEAUTIFUL MOTHER :) She is part of the VLT (Vision and Leadership Team). Just thought I would put her pretty picture out there for you all :) Hehe

Best Offer

Best Offer

During the wedding rehearsal, the groom approached the pastor with an unusual offer:
"Look, I'll give you $100 if you'll change the wedding vows. When you get to the part where I'm supposed to promise to 'love, honor and obey' and 'be faithful to her forever,' I'd appreciate it if you'd just leave that out."
He passed the minister a $100 bill and walked away satisfied.
On the day of the wedding, when it came time for the groom's vows, the pastor looked the young man in the eye and said: "Will you promise to prostrate yourself before her, obey her every command and wish, serve her breakfast in bed every morning of your life, and swear eternally before God and your lovely wife that you will not ever even look at another woman, as long as you both shall live?"
The groom gulped and looked around, and said in a tiny voice, "Yes," then leaned toward the pastor and hissed: "I thought we had a deal."
The pastor put a $100 bill into the groom's hand and whispered: "She made me a better offer."

Nutrition

I found this in the LA Times. I got a 75%. The answers are in the comments section if you would like to test your knowledge.

QUIZ: Test your fast food nutrition knowledge

A new Field Research Corporation poll asked Californians to identify the low calorie, low salt, high fat or high calorie menu items from a list of four choices. Of the people surveyed, 68 percent failed every question. Think you can do better?

1. Which of the following breakfast items that are served at Denny’s do you think has the fewest calories?
A. Ham and cheddar omelet

B. Country fried steak and eggs

C. 3 slices of French toast with syrup and margarine

D. 3 pancakes with syrup and margarine

2. Which of the following items that are served at Chili’s do you think has the least salt?
A. Cajun chicken sandwich

B. Classic combo steak & chicken fajitas

C. Guiltless chicken platter

D. Smoked turkey sandwich

3. Which of the following items that are served at Romano’s Macaroni Grill do you think has the most fat?
A. Traditional lasagna

B. Chicken Caesar salad

C. Pasta classico with sausage and pepper

D. BBQ chicken pizza

4. Which of the following items that are served at McDonald’s do you think has the most calories?
A. 2 Big Macs

B. 2 Egg McMuffins

C. 1 large chocolate shake

D. 4 regular hamburgers

Oh Ypsi Robbers....

Haha. I love dumb robber stories!!

The Ann Arbor News crime column reported that a man walked into a Burger King in Ypsilanti, Michigan, at 5a.m., flashed a gun, and demanded cash. The clerk turned him down because he said he couldn't open the cash register without a food order. When the man ordered onion rings, the clerk said they weren't available for breakfast. The man,frustrated, walked away.

Drained

I am just feeling drained today, like all my energy has run out of my little toe or something. The service this morning was very nice for German. There were a lot of people there and many different stories were shared of his life. He knew the Lord, so it is a comfort to know he is in a better place now. Funerals/ memorials are still draining even if you know that the person is better off now. Also, my grandpa didn't have his surgery this morning. Long story short (cause I don't really have the energy to explain it right now), it is rescheduled for Monday after they do some more tests. I will keep you posted when I have more details I'm sure.

New Gilmore Girls Tonight

Gilmore Girls has been on hiatus for a couple weeks, just showing reruns of the current season, but tonight the new ones start up again. Here is the synopsis:

As Stars Hollow prepares for its annual Spring Fling festival, Rory brings Logan home and shows him around town. Lorelai sees how serious their relationship has become and worries that Logan is too irresponsible for Rory. Taylor angers the town by spending the entire Spring Fling budget on a huge hay bale maze. At an unexpected encounter in the maze, Lorelai and Luke apologize to one another and admit they both made mistakes that lead to the end of their engagement. Meanwhile, Rory has a job interview with the Providence Journal-Bulletin and struggles with decisions about her future.

It's sure to be a good one :)

Manana

Tomorrow will be a busy day. Back in Monroe, MI my grandpa will be having carodid surgery done. It will be the left side of his neck they will be slicing into (to put it bluntly). My mom will be there with him and my grandma, and she will keep me updated on the progress I'm sure. Also, I have a memorial service to go to in the morning for one of our superintendents, Jeff German, that passes away last month. The service is at 9:30am and then I think there will be a small lunch-in afterwards. All of our jobs will be closed tomorrow in honor of Jeff, but we will be coming back to the office. Please keep my grandpa's surgery and German's memorial service in your prayers.

VA Tech

I am sure you have heard of the shooting that occurred this morning on Virgina Tech's campus, but in case you haven't I wanted to link the article. Keep the families and students affected by this terror in your prayers.

The attack was the deadliest campus shooting in American history.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/16/us/16cnd-shooting.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Easter Egg Contest

Ryan and I dyed our Easter Eggs this weekend and now are having a contest. Please vote for the best egg. Whoever wins gets to pick the next movie we will see.

#1:

#2:


#3:

#4:

Check out our whole collection on 'My Photos' link!!

DietDew

This one's for you Mom :)

Diet Dew on the beach.... Heaven!!

Don't waste...

Wasted Resources

Raising animals for food requires massive amounts of land, food, energy, and water and contributes to animal suffering.

It takes up to 16 pounds of grain to produce just 1 pound of meat. Raising animals for food is grossly inefficient, because while animals eat large quantities of grain, they only produce small amounts of meat, dairy products, or eggs in return. This is why more than 70 percent of the grain and cereals that we grow in this country are fed to farmed animals. It takes up to 16 pounds of grain to produce just one pound of meat, and even fish on fish farms must be fed 5 pounds of wild-caught fish to produce one pound of farmed fish flesh. All animals require many times more calories, in the form of grain, soybeans, oats, and corn, than they can possibly return in the form of animal flesh for meat-eaters to consume. The world's cattle alone consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people—more than the entire human population on Earth. About 20 percent of the world's population, or 1.4 billion people, could be fed with the grain and soybeans fed to U.S. cattle alone

VOTE FOR RYAN!

Hey everyone. Ryan has made a design for a button and now needs people to vote for it (if he wins he gets 200 buttons made for free and you could ask him for one). The website to vote at is:

http://busybeaver.net/soandso/

Ryan's design looks like the green head right here (it was supposed to be him, sort of, it's a long story...)... PLEASE TAKE A MINUTE TO GO TO THE SITE AND VOTE, IT WOULD MEAN A LOT TO HIM!!

Friday the 13th

A Friday occurring on the 13th day of any month is considered to be a day of bad luck in English, German, Polish and Portuguese-speaking cultures around the globe. Similar superstitions exist in some other traditions. In Greece or Spain, for example, Tuesday the 13th takes the same role. The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia (a word that is derived from the concatenation of the Greek words Παρασκευή, δεκατρείς, and φοβία, meaning Friday, thirteen, and phobia respectively; alternate spellings include paraskevodekatriaphobia or paraskevidekatriaphobia) or friggatriskaidekaphobia, and is a specialized form of triskaidekaphobia, a phobia (fear) of the number thirteen.

Have a great Friday the 13th everyone, and as my mom said, 'Want to know what Friday the 13th means? Saturday the 14th is coming'

Never mind...

Never mind about the Disney adventure... I was supposed to meet the girl selling me the tickets today at lunch time and I just called her and she backed out (some excuse about having to use an id or something, I think she sold them to someone else or something)... The tickets are too expensive if you buy them at the gate, so I guess we will have to put our trip off till another week... Oh well, I'm sure we will find something else to do