Summer is Here!

I just had an awesome weekend! First of all :::drumroll::: I turned in my last packet of the semester!!! Yay!!! I have some time now to do some fun things and catch up on stuff (like blogging). So that was Friday. Yesterday, I spent birthday money at the fabric store getting supplies for my many sewing projects that I hope to work on this summer. Mom went with me, and we had fun. We also stopped by work so I could turn in some paperwork, and I got some new scents for 75% off at Bath and Body Works. Yay!

Paul, Harry, Mom, and I went to supper and then played Settlers of Catan (my birthday present from Harry). It was fun! Today, we went to church together (the four of us) and then had sandwhiches for lunch. Yum. I used some of my new sewing supplies. I also talked with Karen and Lina on the phone today. Yay!

So, a good weekend.

Eliza the Bot

While doing some digital literature research, I came across Eliza, the first computer bot. She's programmed to respond like the kind of therapist who repeats what you say. She provided a healthy break from homework. My packet is due Saturday. I've been working on it since eight this morning. Ah!!!!!!

My Conversation with Eliza, May 7, 2009
Me: Hello.
Eliza: How do you do. Please state your problem.
Me: I have too much work to do
Eliza: You say you have too much work to do ?
Me: Yes
Eliza: You seem to be quite positive.
Me: Well, yeah, it's a lot of work
Eliza: I'm not sure I understand you fully.
Me: I'm busy
Eliza: Is it because you are busy that you came to me ?
Me: No, I just came for fun
Eliza: Are you saying no just to be negative?
Me: No
Eliza: You are being a bit negative.
Me: I wanted to take a break
Eliza: Can you elaborate on that ?
Me: My brain is about to explode
Eliza: Your brain is about to explode ?
Me: Yes!
Eliza: You are sure.
Me: Positive
Eliza: Lets discuss further why your brain is about to explode .
Me: Well, I have two essays due tomorrow that I haven't even started
Eliza: Do you say you have two essays due tomorrow that you haven't even started for some special reason ?
Me: I've had to research
Eliza: Please go on.
Me: They're complex topics. That's why it's taking so long
Eliza: Why do you ask ?
Me: I didn't
Eliza: That's quite interesting.
Me: Yeah, I'd say so
Eliza: What does that suggest to you ?
Me: That you're malfunctioning
Eliza: What makes you think I am malfunctioning ?
Me: You thought I asked a question when I didn't
Eliza: We were discussing you -- not me.

Spring Cleaning and Homemaking

I'm up too late. I was playing with my new craft blog. I'm not sure if it's ready to be viewed yet, but I'll hopefully post a link soon. Especially for you, Lina! I actually still haven't finished that placemat I started once. . . . I just moved on to other things.

I have been so unmotivated for school the past two weeks. Spring came, and I went into Spring cleaning/homemaker mode. All I want to do is clean, organize, throw things away, and especially, SEW! Yay for sewing! I've been making some things from patterns, but I'm also playing around with freestyle type sewing. Not clothes, though. I'm not up for clothes yet.

So this week, I really need to buckle down. I have got to start my new story so I have something to send to my mentor. It's been simmering the past two weeks (hey, I'm amazed that I came up with something at all!). Before I can start, though, my MC needs a name . . . I also have to read a bunch of stuff and write my essays. I'm kind of excited about the essays, though.

And when I'm not doing all that (when will I ever not be doing all that???) I need to clean up the house 'cause Harry's coming next week! :::waves arms like a puppet::: YAY! At least I'm in a cleaning mood, right?

I also have work this week (like tomorrow morning--I need to get to bed!), but not too much.

Oh, and after two weeks of feeling mostly normal (yay!), I've started feeling dizzy and feverish again. I hope I get our insurance info soon so I can make a doctor appointment. And my symptoms aren't flu-like, so NO I don't have swine flu.

That's what I've been up to! Someday, if I can ever get my craft blog working, I'll post pictures of all the cool stuff I've been making! (Unless it's a present for someone . . .) I hope you all are doing well.

Annie

P.S. God made me laugh today.

Date Weekend

I just read a few of my old posts. Nobody else may enjoy reading what I write, but I sure get a kick out of it!

I just spent an hour or two trying hopelessly to find articles on my essay subject. I found none. I have Incas to thank for that. Or whoever came up with the concept of zero. I'm sure if no one had thought of zero, then I would have found some articles, just like how gravity didn't exist before Newton walked into an apple tree.

I had a pretty good weekend. On Friday, Paul and I were going to see wildflowers, but it was stormy. So after a day of searching for articles for my essay topic, Paul and I went on a date. We tried out a Greek restaurant we'd been curious about (it was yummy!). My gyro came with fries. I love America. ;-) After that, we went and saw Monsters vs. Aliens. It was pretty good. I'd probably give it a three or four star on my CG movie meter. I like Pixar movies the best, but Dreamworks movies aren't bad. I partly liked it 'cause Paul laughed so hard. Oh, and we went to Barnes and Noble. I like Barnes and Noble.


Saturday, I actually did some crafty stuff (pattern cutting). I haven't started sewing yet, but I'll get there. I also had work Saturday. That was okay except that the AC was broken. Hot.

Yesterday, Paul and I drove a little over an hour away to the wildflower fields. We had fun and got cool pictures. The wind was crazy, though! We had yummy German food for supper. Mmmm.

Poppies! Poppies will fix them. . . .

Not that all of that is super interesting, but too bad for you. ;-) I like reading my friends' blogs about their kids. Hopefully, in a few years or whatever God's timing is, my blogs will be more interesting 'cause I'll write about my cute kids.

Have a wonderful last full week of April!

Annie

You Know You're Married to an Engineer . . .

. . . when he compares your essay to a suspension bridge.

Good Friday

I think Easter is my favorite holiday. Yes, I like it even better than Christmas. Think about it--without Easter, Christmas has no meaning. I also like the lead up to Easter. We have Passover, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Saturday, and then Easter. The lead up helps me to really focus on God and what Easter means. I am a selfish person who can be pretty mean. God has greatly freed me from that. When I get the urge to be selfish, He nudges me and tells me to do what He would do. And even though I have that selfishness inside me and have all sorts of crazy bad things in my past, God doesn't remember them. Even though God is holiness itself, I will someday be able to stand in His presence. Why? Because of what He did two thousand years ago on Easter.

When decorating eggs this Easter, remember what they represent--that the tomb (the shell) couldn't keep Jesus inside. He broke free and rose from the dead, freeing us all from our sin if we'll just accept His sacrifice.

He is risen, indeed!

Still Procastinating

Ha ha ha ha ha!!!

"a birth control pill for female hogs is still in development"

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,497004,00.html

(thanks, Dave, for sharing this. ;-) )

Homeschool Fiction!

I'm working on typing up stuff for my school packet, and I need a brake. I've been working on this stuff all day. As a followup to my last post, I thought I'd post the list of homeschool books I compiled. I found most of these book from a page of Home School Online (http://www.homeschoolonline.org/2008/08/08/homeschool-literature/). I found a few by putting "home school" into my library search engine. Not surprisingly, a lot of the books I found are Christian and some are out of print--mainly the Christian ones. . . .

I've read only a couple of these books, and I marked those. Where possible, I listed as the subject what the book has to do with homeschooling, although homeschooling may not be the main plot of the story. Thanks for everyone's help!

Picture Book/Young Readers

• Ratner, Susan Kandoo Kangaroo Hops into Homeschool subj. starting to homeschool
• Stroud, Scott Baby Kong subj. troublesome child Christian
• Stroud, Scott Grumpy Mr. Grady subj. grumpy neighbor Christian

Middle Grade

• Bibee, John The Home School Detectives subj. mystery Christian
• Bowe, Julie My Last Best Friend subj. secondary character was formerly homeschooled *I've read this one. It was a fun book. Homeschooling is mentioned in passing, and the formerly homeschooled character is a normal kid*
  
• Campos, Jacqueline R. The Adventures of Lil' Wolf, Twinkie, Toes, and Flower Girl in the Homeschool Forest
  
• Casanova, Mary Jess: American Girl Today subj. umbrella school type of homeschooling, homeschooling while traveling *I've read this one, and it was pretty good. Showed the fun things you can do that count as school*
• Gantos, Jack What Would Joey Do? subj. sent to another family to be "homeschooled"
• Gaiman, Neil The Graveyard Book subj. home educated by ghosts
• Hannigan, Katherine Ida B. and her plans to maximize fun, avoid disaster, and (possibly) save the world subj. going to public school after homeschooling
• Janney, Rebecca Price Secret of the Lost Colony and following books subj. children with a "homeschool" tutor time travel Christian
• Korman, Gordon Schooled subj. going to public school after homeschooling *I've heard this is a very bad representation of homeschooling*
• Law, Ingird Savvy subj. main character is about to be homeschooled because of special powers *this is a really good book and shows a close-knit family*
• Lepkowski, Gwen Cross-Country Treasure Hunt subj. travel with family Christian
• Lucas, Leanne Addie McCormick and the Computer Pirate subj. sent to a "co-operative homeschool" while her school is being rebuilt Christian
• Morgan, Nicola Chicken Friend subj. starting to homeschool
• Roop, Meg Summer Mystery subj. starting to homeschool
• Selzer, Adam I Put A Spell On You subj. secondary character was formerly homeschooled
  
• Tolan, Stephanie Surviving the Applewhites subj. sent to another family to be "homeschooled"
• Milne Don & Aneladee The Lost Da Vincis subj. homeschool kids search for lost parents *this is self-published and the section I read wasn't very well written*

Young Adult

• Davis, Bryan Dragons in Our Midst subj. starting to homeschool Christian
• Juby, Susan Alice, I Think subj. going to public school
• Spinelli, Jerry Stargirl subj. going to public school
• Spinelli, Jerry Love, Stargirl subj. homeschooling again

Non-Fiction

• Llewellyn, Grace, editor Real Lives: Eleven Teenagers Who Don't Go to School Tell Their Own Stories subj. what the title says
  
• Lurie, Jon Allison's Story subj. an 8 year-old from Minnesota
• Voetberg, Julie I Am a Home Schooler subj. an 8 year-old from a farm

I have checked out What Would Joey Do?, Ida B., and Surviving the Applewhites. I'll try to let you know what I think. Have fun, and let me know if you find anymore books with homeschoolers! Okay, procrastination over . . .

Homeschool Fiction?

Dear Avid Readers, ;-)

I got sick the day I came back from residency, and I was in bed for a week. This week, I'm feeling better, but I'm having trouble getting back on a schedule. I feel really tired. I have a school/cleaning schedule that I'm trying to get going. I'm hoping that the more active I am the less lethargic/depressed I'll feel.

I'm trying to find out if there's much fiction written about homeschoolers. I mean where a homeschooler is a main character. Counting series as 1 book, I've found 8 middle grade books, 2 young adult books, and 1 picture book. I also found 6 Christian homeschooling books. That's not a whole lot. I haven't read those, but from the synopsizes, some of them don't paint a very accurate picture of homeschooling or aren't really homeschooling. Some of them say they're homeschooling but it's really more of a home-bound tutorship or a private school that meets in a home.

Have you read any books with a homeschooler as the main character? If so, would you mind commenting with the title and author and, if possible, a brief synopsis.

I'm also looking for books where a side character or friend is homeschooled and books where homeschooling is mentioned. For example, I just read My Last Best Friend by Julie Bowe where a new girl moves to town and starts going to the main character's school. She says she used to be homeschooled. That kind of thing counts in my mind.

Thanks for your help! I really appreciate it.

Weather, Writing, and MLK, Jr.

Well, it turns out that all those clothes were a little much. The below zero weather really hasn't bothered me. That's partly due to all my amazing cold weather gear, and partly due to the fact that this is dry cold. I actually felt colder trying out my cold weather gear in Texas when I walked to check the mail in +30 weather. Here, it's not so bad. And I love all the snow. I'll try to remember to post some of the few pictures that I have.

I've been having a really good time. I'm excited about this semester. I'm really writer-ed out, though. I'm ready to go home (except that once I'm home, I have to start in on my first packet). I accidentally missed this afternoon's lecture when my alarm didn't go off. I have just one more full day, then a half day plus graduation. The next morning, I head home! Yay!

I find it significant that today is Martin Luther King, Jr. day. I don't think I can articulate what I'm thinking, so I will just say this: In Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech, he says, "I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." (http://www.mlkonline.net/dream.html). I don't think we're there yet.

Annie

-22

I’m sitting in my dorm room wearing two pairs of long underwear under my pants, sock liners under my woolen socks which are in my warm to -20 boots, a baselayer top under my tank under my waffle-knit thermal longsleeve. When it’s time to go to class, I’ll don my -20 down coat, my ear-flap hat with faux fur lining, my fleece scarf, and my down mittens.

Considering weather.com said it was -22 this morning, I’m very glad Paul had me get the -20 coat and boots. :-D And I’m glad Jeff clued us in on what to get. Yay for those Montana boys.

Another Christmas Come and Gone

Well, it's been almost another month. Crazy! Christmas was really good. I enjoyed having Karen, Dave, and Harry home for Christmas. And me and Paul, too! I was going to work on Christmas Eve, but I got sick. I'm just now getting over it, so that part wasn't too fun. Karen and Dave left last Monday (I think), and Harry left yesterday. We had a lot of fun together. I'm sad that they're gone now.

I got to see my cousins from my Dad's side (not all of them, but several of them) this Christmas. Even though I live in the same town as Tiff and Liz, I've been very bad at keeping up with them, so I hadn't seen them in awhile.

The day after Christmas, Karen, Mom, and I drove down to The Valley for Holly's wedding. Karen and I got to stay with Audrey at her in-laws. I had a blast. I actually got to talk with Holly some (for those of you who haven't been to weddings, catching the bride for a chat is a challenge). I loved the wedding. It was so perfectly Holly. I also enjoyed the atmosphere and being in the Valley again. Karen and I had a lot of fun spending time with Audrey. Oh, and of course, we ate El Pato and brought some back for our boys.

Paul and I had a date today. He doesn't like shopping, but being the sweet man that he is, he took me to the mall to look for a wallet. I've been wanting a new wallet for ages (I wanted one as a college graduation present to myself, ha ha), and now that I have a little Christmas money, I thought I'd get one. I found one that I like, and I had a lot of fun hanging out with Paul.

I have a lot to do this week to get ready for school. I am NOT ready for another semester to begin. I haven't even recovered from the last semester. And I still haven't been writing. I've been sick and spending time with family. Oh, and making wedding presents and stuff. Oh well. I'll survive. I just hope I get over the remnants of this cold before I have to leave.

Catch you all later!

My Last Packet is DONE!

Well, I just mailed my last packet for the semester. Yay! Now all I have left are my end of semester evaluations, which I've already got halfway done. I don't get a real break from school the way I did in college, but I'm going to give myself a little break. I deserve it!

My plans are to crochet and sew the projects I've been working on or need to work on. I'm also going to read for fun (I've already started that one). I'd like to work on my web design a little. Oh, and I need to finish Christmas letter/cards. I'm not sure how well the cards will work, but I'm going to try an e-mail newsletter. I've probably already got you on the list, but if you think I don't have your e-mail address and you'd like a newsletter, let me know.

I am planning to prepare a little for next semester. I was not prepared for this semester at all, and that made the semester a lot harder than it had to be. I'm trying to finish the novel I want to work on next semester. I've already got a reading list ready, and I've been trying to figure which mentors are best suited for my style of learning. Oh, and in a couple of weeks, I'll get my workshop book. I wonder who my workshop leaders will be? Workshop was AWESOME this summer, so I'm excited.

Karen and Dave and Dave's parents visited this past weekend, with their cats. We had a lot of fun. As Dad said though, I need a vacation from food! We had salmon, fajitas, ham, and Mexican food. Oh, and doughnuts. Llyan wasn't too fond of her nephews, but they started to get along toward the end. Llyan even rubbed heads with them. I thought she'd miss them when they're gone, but no. She's extatic to have her house and people all to herself again.

Harry is coming home in a couple of weeks, and I am so excited. I've missed him. Karen and Dave are coming back then, too, and we're going to have Christmas together. I'm really happy.

That's probably a long enough update for now. Have a good holiday season, and don't forget why we have Christmas in the first place.

P.S. In answer to Lina, the residency is about 10 days long. I'll have to post some picks of the hats and scarves I made to take with me!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Late Thanksgiving, not Happy Turkey Day. Goodness, no wonder America is obese. Instead of thanking God for food and shelter and another year, we thank the turkey ‘cause we’re hungry. :::shivers:::

Anyway, I can’t believe it’s December, can you? Another year gone by! This has been a rough semester. Let’s just say that LETU spoiled me. :-D I am looking forward to next semester though. I think I’ve got a better handle on writing and grad school. I got a new winter coat for my January residency (er, and it just went on sale! Don’t you hate it when that happens?) It’s a really nice coat! I got the brown. And today, I just ordered some snow boots. Paul called his brother to get advice.

Karen and Dave are coming to visit on Thursday! Yay! I’m really excited. They’re bringing Dave’s parents and their cats. :-D

Yesterday at work, I kept a tally of all the Christmas songs they played. I can’t find the paper I wrote it on, but the count went something like this:

• Walking in a Winter Wonderland 6
• Santa Clause is Coming to Town 5
• Frosty the Snowman 4
• Let It Snow 4
• Jingle Bells 3
• Jingle Bell Rock 3

Yes, I am sick of Walking in a Winter Wonderland.

My Husband Makes Me Laugh

“Paul, why am I crying while reading about baby showers and wedding showers on a pottery studio website?”

“You’re—a girl.”

“That’s not a good answer!”

“For guys it is.”

“That’s not a good answer.”

“Cause you’re a girl and you find it touching when your friends get married and you want to have a baby someday and you’re caring.”

“That’s a better answer.”

“You’re a girl.”

::::frowns::::

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What was I listening to earlier?”

:::singing::: “Who let the dogs out? Who! Who who who!”

“I was not listening to that!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Why won’t Kurt answer his facebook? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he’s in DUBAI!”

:::phone rings:::

“IT’S KURT!”

:::phone stops ringing:::

“Oh, Kurt. Why did you abandon me?”

God is Good and I Have Friends. Yay!

I happened to notice that it’s been a week since my last post. I needed a break from homework anyway. So it seems like all of a sudden, a ton of stuff is happening every weekend. I’m afraid to keep asking off for work. I don’t mind working weekends, its just that stuff keeps happening on them. Nothing’s going on this weekend (as in tomorrow), but next weekend, I’m heading out to a Renaissance Faire with Sarah/Katra/Ashatan/and-I-forget-what-else. I’m excited! Yay! I need to get going on my Pirate costume, but I thought I should do my school first.

The weekend after that, Alisha, Shawna, and Jennie are coming to visit! Yay!!! I’m really excited about that. They’ll be here a couple of days. The weekend after that is the air show that Paul wants to go to for his birthday (which is that Tuesday). I guess nothing happens for awhile after that. Then, the Saturday after Thanksgiving is a family reunion. That would be really fun to go to. But of course, the weekend after Thanksgiving is peak time at the retail stores. So I don’t know about that one.

I’m excited that I’ve got so much going on, though! Yay!

I have a lot of friends who need prayer right now, for various things. Some aren’t feeling well, some have big decisions to make, and some are going through rough times. If you think of it, would you pray a blanket prayer for my friends? Hey, you could be one of them!

On a similar note, I’d just like to mention how awesome God is. He has taken such good care of Paul and I. I needed new clothes and a winter coat, so God got me a job at Eddie Bauer. I needed new glasses, so God led me to a place (through Abby) where I could an eye exam and a pair of glasses for fairly inexpensive. Paul and I both needed to see the doctor, so God got us into a place that is less expensive than others and has a need-based payment plan.

And that leads me to my last point. I’ve decided that I like vets better than doctors. No offense is intended for all of my medical friends—you all are competent! But out of the doctors I’ve been to and the vets I’ve been to, the vets seemed to know what they were doing. The doctor yesterday said, “I don’t know” a whole lot more than I thought she should have. ^o_o^ oh well.

And that’s this weeks Really Long Update in the Life of Annie

Having Friends is Nice :-D

You know what's funny? That book I told you about in the last post is still bothering me. :-\

So things have been going pretty well here. A week and a half ago, Kyle and Lisa came for a Sunday and we hung out together. We went to lunch, Best Buy, Borders, and downtown to the Riverwalk. We had a lot of fun. I've missed hanging out with friends. Of course, that night I had a dream that a 747 landed on our roof and Paul nearly got squished 'cause he was too busy goggling at the plane to run away. :-D

Last Friday, my cousin Abby texted me and asked if I wanted to go see Fireproof with her. I hadn't heard of Fireproof before, so I watched the preview and thought that it looked good. It was a good movie. It was fun, too. It was a Christian movie, but they did a pretty good job of not beating the audience over the head with the gospel. The acting was a little cheesy, especially at the beginning, but overall, it was good. The guy--I always forget his name--Kirk Camero--is a good actor. The girl who played his wife could have done better, but it wasn't bad. And it had some good comedy relief. After the movie, Abby and I went to Chile's and talked until around midnight. I had a blast. I hadn't been to the movies with a friend I'm not married to in awhile.

Work is going well. I get a good discount, so I'm going to buy a new winter coat for January in Vermont. Also for visiting Montana in the winter, which will hopefully happen soon. Grad school could be going better. I don't know why I'm having so much trouble getting things onto paper. I think part of it has to do with the fact that my glasses are 4 years old. I only realized that about a month ago. They've been giving me headaches and making it hard for me to do anything that has to do with computers, books, television, or writing. So basically, I can play the piano, do housework, and sometimes crochet. Paul my sweet and wonderful husband is going to take me to the eyedoctor's, even though we don't have insurance. He's so sweet!

Paul and I have both been feeling overly tired lately. I'm not sure if it's a lifestyle thing or if we're sick or what. It's been very frustrating though. If you wouldn't mind praying for us to figure out what the problem is so that we can fix it, we'd really appreciate it.

Well, that's probably a long enough post for now. Talk with you later!

Annie

I LIKE happy endings!

Yay! I wrote something! :-D It makes me happy. That's only the second short story that I've come up with on my own. I've written a few others, but those were all for the Book Thing. My short story is different than the stuff I often write, but I enjoyed writing it. It was nice to know that it was short, so I didn't have all of this pressure.

On a sad note, I just finished reading Specials, the last book in that series I was telling you about. Well, I had really enjoyed the series up until part three of Specials. I just really didn't like the ending. Okay, I'm gonna spoil the ending, so if you want to read the books someday, don't read between the asterisks. *The ending was so sad! Through the entire third book, the main character was doing things so that she could be with her boyfriend, the one she loved. She was trying to get him medical help and change herself because her superhuman senses saw him as weak. Well, she goes through all of that, and in Part Three, he dies! And it wasn't like he died in the big battle scene or that his brain damage got too much. It was for a stupid reason. He tried to get surgery that was too risky, so his brain rejected the surgery and noone was around to help him because of the battle. So, his brain just stopped working and they took him off the life support machines 'cause they needed the bed. It was a horrible random death. And the last time he and the main character had been together, they had a fight. It was HORRIBLE! Why do people keep writing these terrible sad endings for books? I really enjoyed the rest of the series, but I'll never read it again now. What really gets me, is that his death didn't even make sense with the plotline. I can think of some other things that would have made more sense. Like if he'd just been in a coma and then the main character turned the villain good and she came and fixed him. Anyway, it's just really been bugging me. It probably wouldn't have bothered me so much before I started dating Paul, but now I can imagine what its like to lose the one you love. I honestly kept hoping the main character would die 'cause at least she'd be at peace then. Ergh!*

Okay, rant over. I should probably get back to writing. I'm not sure what, though. I guess I could write an essay until I think of something creative to write. Catch ya later!

Awesome Summer!

I know; I’m a bad blogger. It’s all my love/hate relationship with technology. This summer has been pretty awesome. I went to graduation and Christy and Joel’s wedding in May. Seeing so many ELH-3 girls together again was awesome. We got some good pictures. In June, I went to Audrey and Jason’s wedding and got to hang out with Holly. And Karen came to visit, which was amazing! I’m so glad that she and Dave live closer now. I was going crazy without them!

In July, I went to grad school, which was also amazing. I had a blast and got so fired up about writing again. I went from grad school to Jonathan and Malori’s wedding. From their wedding, Paul and I went on a road trip to celebrate our first anniversary. I had so much fun! That was our first really long road trip. It was stressful in some ways—like that crazy mid-western storm! 120 miles long and at least 4 hours to get through—but a lot of fun. We ate original deep dish pizza at the original deep dish pizza restaurant! And guess what? The guy who invented it was from Texas! Yup, everything good comes from Texas. ;-) I can say that, too, ‘cause Paul’s mom was from Texas, so he came from here, too.

In August, I got to go to Kendall and Joshua’s wedding, which I didn’t think I was going to do. I road the train to meet up with Christy, Alisha, and Amanda and we road tripped up to the wedding. I had so much fun with the girls again. And guess what?? Christy and I got to be flower girls! Yay! And hanging out with Kendall was great since I hadn’t seen her in forever.

I finally found a part-time job. It’s been pretty good so far (I’ve been there about two weeks). They’ve been working with my schedule and mostly scheduling me for afternoons. Yay. Part-time is so much nicer than fulltime.

Grad school sucks right now. Not because of grad school but because of my infernal writer’s block. ARGH! Quick, someone give me an idea for a short story based on character! Any prayers for my writing would be greatly appreciated. I’d hate to waste this opportunity.

I know this is getting long, but I just want to thank everyone for their prayers for my brother-in-law. Jeff is doing pretty well. He got the back brace off this week. This whole situation has really been a miracle. God was really looking out for Jeff. Hit by a drunken driver while riding his bike and only two cracked vertebrae and no paralysis—I’d say that’s a miracle! Continued prayers for his recovery and for the medical bills are greatly appreciated. Neither Jeff nor the drunk driver has insurance. And if you wouldn’t mind praying for my mother-in-law, she has hepatitis or something crazy like that. The doctors hope it will clear up by December. We’re praying it clears up sooner.

Well, that’s another brief update from the life of Annie!

P.S. I read this book Uglies by Scott Westerfeld for grad school. It’s not wonderfully written, but it’s not horrible either and it was pretty interesting. The main character kind of drives me crazy, though. I just finished the sequel, Pretties, and I’m taking a brake before I start the third one.

In Vermont, “BBQ” Means “Cookout”

This post is about cultural differences. Sometimes, we don’t realize what our culture is until we’re thrust into another one.

Example #1: Yesterday, dinner was scheduled as “BBQ on the college green.” One of my classmates, Katie, and I were sitting on the grass reading our workshop pieces for the next day. “Are we having hamburgers and hotdogs?” Katie asked as the smell of charcoal wafted our way. “Because that would be odd since we had that for lunch.”

I replied, “I thought we were having BBQ.”

Knowing where I’m from, Katie understood my confusion. “Do you mean pulled pork or pulled chicken?” she asked.

I didn’t really. “I meant brisket.”

Katie asked, “What’s brisket?”

She’d heard of it before, but thought that it was some kind of Mexican meat. I further realized my ideas on BBQ when I went through the food line. I was incensed when people passed up the potato salad. Alright, so it was fancy potato salad with no mustard and made out of red new potatoes, but how can you eat BBQ without potato salad? I got potato salad and coleslaw, noting the lack of charro beans. As I neared the end of line, where people were serving themselves lemonade with a ladle, I set down my plate and began looking for the sweet tea.

I guess this proves that I lived in East Texas for four and a half years.

Example #2: I was sitting at a picnic table today, writing a letter, when a few scattered drops fell from the sky. I heard people say, “It’s raining!” and head briskly toward a building. I stayed and enjoyed it. My paper barely got a few drops. Later on, when the rain grew harder, someone said, “Take an umbrella if you go out. It’s pouring!” I came out (on my way here actually). It’s raining, not pouring. My bag didn’t even look like it had the measles, just some acne. If my bag and I aren’t soaked by the time I get from one place to the other, it’s not pouring.

So, those are just some of the cultural differences that I’ve noticed here in Vermont. :-D

P.S. It feels like early fall here, not the middle of July. Which is good, considering the dorms have no AC.

P.P.S. Some of my classmates and I played Apples to Apples last night, and “The South” won for “Distinguished,” so I’m not alone here! :-D