Toot, toot!

We were recently chastised for not "tooting" our own horn and since Lawrence doesn't like to brag (well, not about anything other than his mad karaoke skills) I suppose I'll have to do it for him...

Lawrence has received the James A. Hopson Volunteer Award from the ISU Alumni Association which he will be presented with at the 2009 Honors & Awards Ceremony during the Iowa State Homecoming festivities. You can read more about it here and if you're in the area you can attend the public event at 1:30pm on Friday, October 16 at the Scheman Building. Toot, toot!

Homecoming will be a crazy busy weekend for both of us (Lawrence especially since he has award activities plus job responsibilities all weekend- there is a football game, too, after all) but this is a great honor and a good reason to add to the chaos that is Homecoming!

20 & Counting!

We haven't complained, er, I mean, wrote about The Challenge lately, probably because we're simply too tired at the end of the day to rehash the madness of class that morning. However, I thought I should mention that we have 20 CLASSES left! Woohoo! Don't uncork the wine yet, but start polishing the glasses. That means after class tomorrow we will be in the teens. Wow! I know that everyone likes to say this is a lifestyle change, but bet your bottom dollar that my lifestyle is going to change right back to include a little pizza and wine every now and then just as soon as this is over. Sure, we might buy the low-carb tortillas still and we might stick to lean meats for the most part, but I'm still not sold on the natural peanut butter (Skippy, I miss you old friend!) and "snacking" on turkey or chicken five times a day still isn't part of my natural routine. I'm already creating a list of foods I want to eat as soon as this is over and a large pepperoni and mushroom from Pizza Hut is at the top of the list. I'm pretty sure a BeBop's burger is at the top of Lawrence's list (I'm confident about that since I have heard him talk about it at least once a day, every day, since we started The Challenge).

In honor of the countdown, I think I might go out and make a paper chain out of bubble tape and red licorice. Is that so wrong?

Gemini + Gemini

On my iGoogle homepage I receive my daily horoscope and today's entry also had a link where you could put in your sign and your partner's sign and it would tell you how compatible you are. Kind of like a virtual palm reading or that fortune teller machine from Big. So, of course I took two more minutes out of my work day to see what California Psychics had to say about Lawrence and I.

Gemini & Gemini:

There are two sets of twins in this pairing. You both love to flirt, talk, socialize, travel, and are curious about a wide range of subjects. Restless and bored easily, your challenge will be to stop talking long enough to access your feelings to create a deeper intimacy. You need to plunge into stormy emotional waters that occasionally arise in every relationship. Without the courage to explore the depths of your feelings, your relationship will remain shallow and lack commitment. However, if each of you can be still and listen to your hearts, your relationship will be a source of inspiration and laughter to you both.

Hmm... for two people who were voted Biggest Flirt in their high school graduating class, this is probably pretty right on, down to the source of inspiration and laughter. Interesting.

Some days my horoscope is so dead on, I have to look around quickly over my shoulder to make sure some techie with a sense of humor isn't just screwing with me behind the curtain. And other days, I'm sure that the psychic was out sick and they just picked some random thoughts out of a hat. I'm still not sure where today's horoscope falls:

Gemini (May 21 - June 21) Thursday, Sep 17, 2009
Even if things might seem a bit confusing or hard to sort out on the home front today, just realize that you should have the opportunity to improve some difficult situations involving your family before the day is through. And it'll definitely be in your best interest to do everything you can to prove your dedication to your loved ones right now.

Maybe it means I should call my sister back even though she hung up on me last night. Or maybe it's talking about taking care of the stacked up dishes in the sink without making a fuss. Or maybe it was just one of those random hat days and I should get back to work without reading anymore into it. Where is Zoltar when you need him?

Bowl Full of... Betsy!

Our last summer trip was out to Ohio and back to visit family, but along the way we got to visit two of my very good friends, Anne (& her family) near Peoria, IL and Betsy (& her husband Jack) in Ft.Wayne, IN. Although Ohio was great, seeing Anne & Todd and Betsy & Jack were definitely the high points of the trip for me!

Anne and Todd graciously let us stay at their house on the way out to Ohio and we had a great night with them and their kids catching up. Anne was one of my advisors at Bradley and we've been close ever since. She has definitely been a support over the years and I think I cried more seeing her at my wedding than I did seeing Lawrence. Together Anne and Todd are one of the most remarkable couples I have ever known. After their third child, Meg, was born with Down syndrome, they chose to go through the difficult process of adopting a little girl Meg's age from Ukraine who also has Down's. They are amazing, inspiring and so grounded. Not to mention they have four of the funniest, cutest, most energetic kids I've ever known! You can read more about their family here.

On the way back from Ohio we got the chance to see my old college roommate, Besty, and the love of her life, Jack, in Ft. Wayne. Even though the visit was brief, we had just enough time to see their new perfect house and hear the great news of their expanding family in person! Betsy and I are determined to do a great crafty venture together someday, but in the meantime I'll settle for any time I can get with her! And while we were at her house visiting, I saw these amazing pinecones in the shape (I swear!) of cherries, stem and all. I couldn't get enough of them and when we left, I begged Betsy for a baggie to take some home with me. Lawrence and Jack looked at my like I was crazy but Betsy lovingly obliged and I finally had something perfect to fill the little antique bowl I got from my grandma. So now I have a bowl full of Betsy, er, I mean cherries, that not only looks great on the side table but reminds me of some fabulous people I have the priviledge of having in my life. Thanks Betsy & Jack & Anne & Todd- for everything!

Step Off, Pig

Either an alien has entered my body and is trying desperately to get out by turning into straight liquid form and violently excaping my body through various orfices OR I have the flu. I was betting on the alien up until about 3am and now have given up all hope against hope and have resigned myself that I have just become one more statistic in the H1N1 reports.

The CDC's website (what else do I have to do at 4am when waiting for the next bout to come on than surf the internet to verify my symptoms- yes, I am turning into my mother!) states:

What are the signs and symptoms of this virus in people?
The symptoms of 2009 H1N1 flu virus in people include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. A significant number of people who have been infected with this virus also have reported diarrhea and vomiting.

Yup, check all those twice. Awesome.

The good news is, I could eat whatever I want right now because everything just comes back up. The bad news is, I don’t want to eat anything because everything just comes back up. It started last night at dinner. We were out at a really nice restaurant with Donna and Bernardo (who graciously came to visit this weekend to help us with our landscaping!) and I had to get up twice to go to the bathroom and it hasn't stopped since. I felt fine when I ordered and by the time the salad came, just looking at made me want to puke. So I did.

Yuck! I want my mommy (although truth be told, she's never been good around puking people so I really just want her in theory). I'd rather have a really hot male nurse who will stroke my hair back and tell me everything is going to be okay. Until he shows up, Lawrence makes a great stand in.

Panda? Poodle?

I'm pretty sure that neither of my dogs would EVER sit still long enough (or have the right hair to begin with) to be able to do this, but I have always wanted a panda bear of my very own and this might be the closest I could ever get...




Click on the photo to see the full story and even more pictures! I haven't ever wanted a buffalo of my very own, but if I did, this one's pretty cute!

It's Game Day Baby!

So in the midst of all of these crazy workouts I've almost lost track of the fact that the Cyclones first game was coming up so quickly! That's right folks were only hours away from kickoff and I can't wait. Nothing like a Thursday night game under the lights at Jack Trice Stadium!

Hope to see you there! Yaaahoooooo!