My eyes have seen the glory...

Today was the first day of classes, and of course here at ACU that means Opening Assembly!!! Thought the Goode ladies would like to know that it was as exciting as they probably remember it. There was of course the procession of the faculty and parade of flags. The girl that carried the Texas flag was great. She wore a Texas flag shirt, denim skirt, cowboy boots (with the Texas star on them), and a cowboy hat.

There were also the usual songs, All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name, Oh, Dear Christian College, and the Battle Hymn of the Republic. The male voices in the Grand Chorus were amazing. I could listen to men singing all day long. Here is the US Army Chorus singing it - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irZmknvOB4I.

If I'd had my camera or a camera phone, I would have taken pictures, but alas and alack, I don't, so I didn't.

The American flag did not fall completely, but Dr. Money declared the school year officially begun anyway.

Go Wildcats!!!

New home, no furniture

Well almost no furniture. I now have two, no, three pieces of furniture (I refuse to count the lawn chair as furniture). It's driving me crazy that I can't find the cd that has my digital camera software. I have the camera, but no software to see and download pictures. As soon as I (a) find the software, or (b) buy a new camera, I'll post some pictures. Let's hope "a" happens soon or there won't be pictures for a while.

But anyway, as of Monday I now have a large upholstered chair and ottoman and a large-ish entertainment center. They take up quite a bit of room, as well as the air mattress on the floor (which I'm not counting as furniture either). I had an epiphany yesterday; I need to make a murphy bed. I looked at plans for them on the internet while I was still in Lubbock. Will have to look again. Material costs may be a bit steep though.

Anyway, not much else happening. Greg and I do have a weekend job together. Greg started it the last weekend of May or first weekend in June, don't remember which. I started the following weekend. We are cooking at a place called Flapjacks. Greg works the meat station (bacon, sausage links/patties, ham, burgers, etc.), and I work the pancake station. I make the pancakes, french toast, toast bread for eggs benedict, hamburgers, patty melts, etc. Oh, and I also make the crepes and blintzes. Technically I don't make the blintzes, I just heat them up when they are ordered. They are very good even just heated up. Yummy. There were several flavors or toppings for the flapjacks when I started, but we now have 32 flavors. There are some crazy flavors too. We have smores, german chocolate, black forest, carrot, banana/walnut to name a few. Those are really not that crazy, just hard to remember what goes on them. We'll be adding some kids flavors that will include some really crazy flavors that I don't remember right now.

Flapjacks is on Rufe Snow in Fort Worth, so we drive back every weekend. Which isn't terrible, but it's been a little tough adjusting. I feel like I have two lives, one here in Abilene and one in Fort Worth. I'll probably only work there for the rest of the summer though. I'd like to spend some time "living" in Abilene. I started the job before I got the ACU job, so I didn't feel right just quiting.

It's been surreal being back in Abilene and especially ACU (haven't gotten to see much of Abilene yet. They keep wanting me to come to work. Go figure.) It doesn't feel like I ever left. It feels very natural. Two of my favorite people are still here, so it's been great getting to see them again. Kerry works in the library, and we've gone to lunch several times. We started walking two weeks ago on Monday and Friday, but she left last week to move her oldest daughter to Nashville. Her husband is going to be the director of the theatre department at Lipscomb. Bonny, Kerry's middle daughter, is still here. We went and saw Wall-e last week. It was cute, cute, cute. Very good movie. Several more of my favorite people are here, but they are professors and are not around right now.

There is a drive in here, but haven't gone yet. Movies don't start until 9:15, so that's too late on a work night, and we're not here on weekends. Anybody remember drive-ins. I saw The Town That Dreaded Sundown at the drive in when I was a kid. I was suppose to be asleep. I think the first movie was Star Wars. I'll ask my mom. Mom doesn't remember. Oh well. Need to go find some Dr. Pepper!

Sorry it's been so long

A lot has been happening lately, so it's been awhile since I've blogged. Of course, I have still been reading my dear cousins blogs to see what they've been up to.

The big news is that we've moved and I have a NEW JOB! We are now living in Abilene, Texas (yes, Chelle, I'm back), and I am working at Abilene Christian University again! I am working in the Registrar's Office as the Curricular Programs and Communications Specialist. I am responsible for updating and publishing the university catalog, academic calendar, and I keep track of all program, course, and degree changes that are processed through the University Academic Council and the General Education Council. I'll also be responsible for updating the degree audits in Banner and making sure they work right, but I'm still learning that software.

It was a crazy time getting to this point (this is my third week on the job). Since January, I probably sent out 100 resumes but only had about a dozen interviews with several schools (TCU, North Lake College, Richland College, UNT, UTA, West Texas A&M, and even a phone interview at TTU, to name a few). I was so certain though that I would find a job in the DFW metroplex that Greg and I moved to Fort Worth at the end of May. We were staying with his mom, and were going to stay with her for the summer or until I found a job and moved closer to wherever I got the job.

I had applied to a couple of positions at ACU, and am still in a little shock that I'm back. It feels so natural to be here though. I kept praying that God would direct us, and I think He has, so praise God!

Of course I have no furniture because I gave most of it away in Lubbock. When I packed a Uhual full of stuff back in April, we were actually planning on staying in Lubbock until December, so I left some of the bigger stuff there. Too bad we didn't just wait until I had a job, cause then we could have moved everything straight here. But that's ok, I gave most of it away to a very sweet LCU student.

We are renting a very cute little house here that is very near the campus. It is a long story how we ended up with it, which I won't bore anybody with. It does have its problems, but it also has a lot of charm. As soon as I find the software cd for my digital camera, I'll take some pictures and post them.

wind and dust, dust and wind

This picture is of a haboob (don't ask me how to pronounce it). It's Arabic for a very bad thing. The website I took the picture from is talking about them happening in the Sahara desert. This picture is of Lubbock, Texas! The red domed building directly below the sand storm is on Tech's campus. (That's were Greg and I saw the rodeo last weekend.)



Today we had a haboob. I can't find a picture of today's, and from my perspective it wasn't this dramatic looking. When I went to work at 11:00 am this morning, the sky to the west was brown, but the sky to the east was still blue. By the time I got off work around 2:00 pm, the sky was brown in all directions. I could hear the dirt hitting my car as I was running errands on my way home.

This is what you see on radar when we have a sand storm here in Lubbock. The white is clouds, I think, but the light brown is dirt. Dirt in the air. This storm last year went from Lubbock to Abilene. I don't know about my lovely cousins, but I only remember this happening in Abilene a few times the whole time I lived there. These storms happen a few times a year here.
Yesterday it actually rained for most of the day, so maybe there was actually less dust in the air then there could have been.

The winds that brought this dust storm were so strong that it knocked over three tracker-trailers on the interstate. Here's one of them.

Online game

Here is a free online game that is very addictive. I'm sitting at the circulation desk of the LCU library, and will pretty much play this game over and over again until I close.

You've been warned!

http://games.yahoo.com/free-games/bricks-breaking;_ylc=X3IDMgRtcANibARwb3MDMzUEc2VjA2xwbwRzbGsDQm91bmNpbmcgQmFsbHM-

Rodeo

Greg and I went to the ABC Rodeo here in Lubbock this past Saturday. It was pretty exciting! There were a few big names there, but I couldn't tell you who they were. Several guys were national champions though. I didn't have my camera, but I got this picture off the internet.
One guy was hurt pretty bad though. I don't remember if he was on a bull or horse, but I am sure he got whiplash from being slammed down face first into the ground. He just laid there shaking, and he could barely walk out of the stadium when they got him standing up.

It was at the city coliseum where TTU's hockey team and the city hockey team play, so it was weird to see the usual ice floor covered in dirt. We got to see the bull riding, bronc riding, steer wrestling, tie down and team roping, barrel racing, and bull fighting. Bull fighting is when the rodeo clown runs around the arena with a bull chasing them. Here's a video from last year - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiJH474azvc.

They also had some events for kids. One was sheep riding or mutton busting. Here's a picture I found online. It's a different rodeo, but you get the idea.
They also had a calf scramble where this mob of kids run around after three or four calves. I'm not sure what the object was. I think the calves had something tied on them, and the kids had to pull it off to win. All of the kids events were hilariously cute!

There was a barrel racing contest too. All but two of the ladies knocked over one or more barrels which is a 5 second penalty per barrel. The two that didn't knock over barrels still didn't win. They would have had to get 13.4 seconds, but they both got over 14 seconds. Apparently a bunch of girls had raced the night before, so we didn't get to see the winners race.

I have never gone to a rodeo that I can remember. Maybe mom will tell me I did when I was a little kid, but I don't remember it. Greg has actually gone to more rodeos than I have. It was pretty cool to see men and women, teenagers and little kids walking around in their Wranglers, purl snap shirts, and hats and boots. It made me want to go out and get a a completely different wardrobe. I've had friends from out of state that thought we all walked around in ropers and cowboy hats in Texas. I've never owned a pair of ropers and when I've had cowboy hats, I hardly ever wore them. I did grow up wearing Wranglers though. They were irregulars that we got at a discount jean store somewhere on River Oaks Boulevard.

Since the cousins that read this go to the state fair ever year, I'm sure none of this is new to you. Is there a rodeo at the state fair? I think it would be cool if my cousins that live in New York and Tuscon had cowboy boots and hats. I think one of them wears nothing put flip flops, so probably no boots.

Plans

It's a beautiful Saturday in Lubbock, Texas, and I'm stuck in the library. I opened all of the blinds so that I can see out. Not that great of a view, but it's something besides walls. They need to add a retractable roof. Any body want to start a capital campaign for one? Because of the wind it's a tad on the chilly side, but I'm sure the sun will win out as the day goes on.

As usual my plans are a-changin'. Camp is no longer in the picture for this summer which does sadden me a little bit. I think it would have been a great experience, but I don't think the timing is right. I need to concentrate on getting a job where I can use the degree I just spent a bunch of money on. Of course it wasn't my money, but sweet, old Sallie Mae is going to start asking for it back soon. So as soon as I post this blog, I'll be spending the rest of the day submitting applications and my resume to as many places as possible. I'll be looking mostly in the D/FW area, but I'll include any state that is touching Texas and probably Michigan and Wisconsin as well.


If I get a job, I will need to be able to move at a moments notice, so in order to facilitate this, I moved the majority of my belongings this past weekend to a shed in Kenny's (you can call him Ken) backyard. That was back breaking and expensive, so bank breaking I guess. We also went the wrong way (it wasn't my fault), so we paid a little extra for the 100 miles that we went over our free miles. The very nice lady at Uhaul only charged me 10 cents a mile instead of 40 cents.


I still have an apartment full of furniture and stuff, but all of the furniture will be sat out on the curb when we leave because whatever doesn't fit in my car has to stay behind. It looks like I may be going back to Fort Worth again tomorrow for a few days. Greg's boat is stuck at his mom's and needs to be moved to the marina, and I have a few days off. After I get off today at 6, I don't have to be back to work until Tuesday night at 9. (I'm not working at Chick-fil-a anymore. It was fun working there, but I need to be free to find a "real" job, and I like only working 25 hours a week, and between the two of us, we can pay our monthly bills without me working there. I've never worked with a friendlier group of people though.)

As a backup plan to getting a job, I plan on taking some teacher certification courses this summer. I should only have to take five of the nine courses required before I do my student teaching. I'm going to try and take them all this summer, which means I need to ask for special permission to take three during one summer session. That should be fun. Of course this is assuming that I only have to take five. I need to get my transcript sent to TTU from ACU, so they can evaluate a course that I took there. I guess I'll do that today too.

I'm hungry. Gonna go find something to go along with the bologna sandwich I brought for lunch.

Dullsville

Don't really have anything to post, but...

Lord willing, I'll be moving the major portion of my belongings to Fort Worth this weekend. I also need to see my dentist while I'm there. I'll probably have to go to her Addison office; her North Richland Hills office isn't open on Saturday.

I applied for several positions in the D/FW area last week, but no one has called me yet. Universities are soooo slow when it comes to hiring. I'm going to go ahead and move a bunch of stuff so I'm ready when the time comes though.

So in the meantime, I'm still planning on working at the summer camp. Some day I'll get the film developed and post the pictures I took when I was there a few weeks ago. I think I only got three pictures taken, and they are all of the kitchen. (Some day I'm going to invest in a digital camera so I don't have to wait until I have money to get film developed. Or maybe I should invest in a job that will get me money so I can get film developed when I want.) If you want to see how beautiful it is out doors there, you can check out their website at pinespringscamp.com.

The drive there is blah. It's only the last hour or so that you're in the mountains. Once you get to the Lincoln National Forest it's gorgeous. They must have had some fires there recently though; there were a lot of bald spots. One of the faculty members told me that the camp had burned down before. I got the impression it was 15 or 20 years ago.

I'm currently sitting at the circulation desk of the LCU library. It's sooo slow tonight, but then it is Wednesday night on a CofC campus. There is a very pretty poinsettia sitting on the desk near me. I don't think I've every seen one last so long after Christmas. It's yellow of course, but still pretty. I heard you have to put them in a dark room for a couple of weeks for the red to come back.

I've been watching Celebrity Apprentice. I hope that Trace Adkins beats that British guy.

Only 13 people have walked through the library doors in the last hour. Told ya it was slow. There is a door counter that we have to check every hour. I set my cell phone alarm to remind me, so every hour I think someone is calling me until I notice that an hour has gone by. It actually seems to make the hours go by quickly.

Well, since I have nothing better to talk about I'll stop now.

Fort Worth bound?

It looks like we might be moving back to Fort Worth.  I've gotten some boxes from Walmart and just ducted tape them back together, so at the very least I will be moving a large portion of my possessions to storage in Fort Worth (I have a shed in Ken's backyard).  I don't know how many applications I've put out over the last five months, but nothing has worked out so far.  There aren't too many universities out here, so we're hoping that the D/FW area will be better job wise.  And of course, my family is there and Greg's mom is there.  Greg still wants to move back north eventually, so I want to be closer to the family in the meantime.

I'm also considering doing my post-bac teaching certification.  It would actually be better to do it at Tech, at least compared to UTA, so there's the slightest chance I'll complete the courses this summer and do my student teaching in the fall and won't move to Fort Worth until the end of the year.  Still need to retrench as far as getting a control of the mounting stuff that is cluttering the apartment, and would like to be more mobile for either moving to a smaller apartment or back to Fort Worth.

Which means as much as I would love to, I won't be cooking at the camp this summer.  It is a beautiful place, and would be a rewarding experience, but I don't think it's the responsible decision right now.  I volunteered for a while at the NRHCofC's kitchen, so hopefully I'll be able to do that again.

I'll keep whoever is actually reading this blog posted.  And if I ever get my film developed, I'll add some pictures.

Lots of pines but no springs

Actually there was a little spring that ran along most of the valley once I got in the mountains, but it stopped before I got to the camp.  Got back yesterday afternoon.  It was beautiful, and fun, and exhausting.  Luckily I had help with most of the cooking, or I wouldn't have been able to have any meals completed on time.  The new facilities guy was there and he'd cooked at other camps before so he was a big help.  And several of the faculty members that were there for the retreat helped when they could, mostly for breakfast.  Even then, I was late for dinner the first night and breakfast the next morning.  But the next three meals were ready on time.  Everyone liked the food, even for being late.  A couple of the professors took my name and email to possibly do meals for them later in the semester.

I did run out of food the first night.  I made puttanesca over fettuccini that night.  Luckily there was a large jar of Ragu sauce, so no one went without, they just had to make do with bottled sauce.  I had a lot of leftovers for the other meals.  Brought some of them home for Greg.  I hadn't made several of the recipes before and wanted him to try them.  If anyone needs a great tomato soup, french toast, or quiche recipe, let me know.

There is another retreat in April, so I may be cooking for that one too.  I'll be sure and adjust my recipes though.  The vendor that we receive our supplies from during the summer is having a food show in Albuquerque on Wednesday.  I may drive over Tuesday night after I get off work.  I start back at Chick-fil-a tomorrow.  At least I assume.  I stopped by on Tuesday and the remodeling was suppose to still be on track for the reopening tomorrow.  I didn't drive by today to see.

Had a letter in the mail when I got back saying I didn't get the admissions coordinator job.  God's timing is perfect, so it wasn't the right job.  I noticed there are two other jobs posted on the LCU website, so I'll apply for them this week.

Just another post

No word on admissions coordinator job, but I'm cooking forward to the retreat next week, and today they asked me if I wanted to go a food show that Ben E. Keith is sponsoring in Albuquerque the week after. That would be way cool! I'll be telling Chick-fil-a I need off to go to that too. Even though the store is closed for remodeling I was put on the schedule (without them asking or telling me) to help restock the store next Friday. It would have been fun to see the store and help restore everything before anyone else gets to see the remodel, but the retreat is next Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Speaking of...we've been in training at work this week while the store is being remodeled. It's been somewhat interesting. Usually I'm thinking about how I can use this at the camp if I get to cook there this summer. I just had a thought...it would probably mean that I won't be at the family reunion in June. Oops.

Except for being on the schedule next Friday, I'm off all next week. Wish I could make it to Fort Worth before going to the retreat. Need to see the dentist still. She had put some things on my braces to straighten two of my teeth, but I think one of them is going too far the other way now. I've had the braces since March 2005. She told me 10 months, eighteen at the most. I'm pretty much used to them at this point. It'll probably be strange when I get them off. She's a bit of a perfectionist, so it'll probably be a while. She's very good though. I would absolutely recommend her, and I actually gave her information to Ken recently.

Old friends

I was reading my cousins blogs on Saturday and was becoming nostalgic for my Harding days, so I tracked down an old suite mate.  I had an idea where her husband worked, so I tracked down his email.  I sent him an email, and Becky sent me a reply a few hours later.  She's living in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and two gorgeous twin girls.  They look just like their daddy!  I'm looking forward to reconnecting with her.

Still up in the air about jobs.  I was going to cook at two retreats over the next two weekends, but the group this weekend is cooking for themselves, so I won't be going to New Mexico until next week.  Looking forward to it.  I had started the menu for the first retreat, so I'll build on it for the next one.

The Chick-fil-a I work for is closed for remodeling, but we're doing training this week.  They have to do something to justify paying us I guess.  It is mildly interesting though.  Actually giving me some ideas for the summer cook job if I get it.  We're closed for two weeks, but LCU's spring break is the week Chick-fil-a reopens or I would be going to Fort Worth.

Master's or bachelor's?

I saw a/an LCU email last week that was advertising for a summer head cook position at Pine Springs summer camp in New Mexico. Since nothing has happened with my other applications, I thought why not? Who wouldn’t want to be in the mountains of New Mexico for three months in the summer instead of in Lubbock, Texas? I emailed the contact person and she emailed me right back. We emailed back a forth a few times and then she said to come in for an interview.

Sounds like it would be fun. I would be in charge of the kitchen and the cantina. I would create the menus for 50-250 people, order supplies, and be in charge of the kitchen staff (LCU students). I do have a degree in home economics and several food preparation and meal managment courses were required. One of the two people I interviewed with suggested that I take a trip out to see the place, and even suggested that I go and cook for a faculty retreat that will be at the camp next week (March 6-7). Chick-fil-a is remodeling and will be closed for two weeks beginning this Saturday, so I could probably do it.

So here I am all excited about it, but as I was driving down the street after the interview I get a call from LCU - LCU Admissions Office. I submitted an application last week for an Admissions Coordinator position, and now I have an interview with them tomorrow morning at 9:30. Which is pretty good timing as far as Chick-fil-a is concerned since they’ll be closed for two weeks. I could start next Monday, if they wanted me to. But I guess not so good timing for the cook job. If I'm offered both, I’ll take the admissions position. Even though LCU is planning a capital campaign soon for the camp (LCU owns it) and it will be a year round retreat center some day, I do have a master’s degree in higher education, so I guess I'll leave the cooking as a hobby. I volunteered at the kitchen at NRH Church of Christ, but I haven't found anything like that here. Anyway, I hope to report soon that I have the admissions job.

It's Saturday night...

It’s Saturday night, and there is nothing on television.  Of course, we don’t have cable and only have six channels.  Apparently Bill Clinton was in Lubbock and three of the channels are showing his speech; the other three channels have Cops, NFL total access, or King of Queens.  Blah.  So I just turned it off.  I suppose I could watch a movie.

For the past three weeks I’ve been working a new job at Chick-fil-a.  I still have the part time job at the LCU library that I started last September, but since I haven’t been able to find anything full time at a university, I’m working there in the meantime.  It’s been difficult getting used to being on my feet for so many hours, but with about 1000mg of ibuprofen before and after my shift, I think I’m getting used to it.  The same thing happened when I worked at Garden Ridge in Fort Worth.  It took a few weeks, but I guess you’re body gets used to it.  Most of the people are nice and the management has been understanding about me taking off early occasionally to get Greg to work on time.  He hasn’t been able to ride his motorcycle on a regular basis, so we’ve been sharing the car.

Greg and I were in Fort Worth last weekend.  Wanted to see my dentist, but she was out of town, so I guess we’ll be going back some time soon.  Except, I work on Saturdays at the library, so I don’t know when.

We’re trying to decide if we’re going to move back to Fort Worth.  We’re both tired of Lubbock and I finished my program in December, so this may be a good time to make the move.  I’ve applied for positions at Tech, LCU, and even West Texas A&M (1 ½ north of Lubbock), but even though I’ve had some interviews, nothing has happened.  I’m sure it’s just a matter of timing before I get a position somewhere, but it’s God’s timing and not mine, so I don’t know what will happen.  Just saw a posting for a position at LCU, so I’ll try for it and see what happens.

I finished the wedding gift that I made for Beth and Paul.  I just need to frame it.  I took pictures of it with my very cheap ($20) digital camera, but lo and behold, the software is not compatible with my Mac.  But wait, I can get to the pictures on Greg’s computer, and I can hook his computer up to the internet, so when I post this, I’ll add a picture of it.

I’m not sure how people find interesting stuff to blog about.  (I’m typing this in Word, and just had to add the word “blog” to my dictionary so that red underline would go away.)  It’ll be 8:00 in ten more minutes, so hopefully the Clinton speech will be over and I can watch 48 Hours Mystery.  I should probably be cleaning instead, but (insert excuse here).

the beginning

I got an email today saying that one of my lovely cousins is engaged! How wonderful is that! Her blog was listed in the email, so I got to read the story of how she got engaged. So romantic! I also read several of her other entries, then went to her sisters' blogs, then read what there was of their parents blogs, plus a few entries from miscellaneous blogs linked to the sisters' blog sites, so I've now been inspired by my Goode cousins to create my own blog.

So here I am at 3:34 in the morning, blogging. After taking Greg to work this morning, I went back to sleep for a few more hours, so now I'm wide awake tonight. I'll have to make sure and stay up this morning, so I can sleep tomorrow night, or I guess that would be tonight. But then I'm sure getting to sleep tonight won't be too hard since I work until midnight tonight. I have a part time job at LCU's library and work 9pm to midnight Tuesday and Thursday night. I also work there 6-9pm Wednesday and 10am-6pm Saturdays. Which will probably be when I do most of my blogging.

I'll probably end up posting mostly about knitting or whatever craft I'm working on at the moment. I'm working on a wedding present for another lovely cousin (don't tell Beth). I'll take a picture of it when it's done and post it. I have the beginnings of a hat that I'm knitting for one of my gorgeous nieces. I've just cast it on so far. I made the same hat for my other gorgeous niece for Christmas. It was slightly too big, so I'll use smaller needles this time. For those knitters out there, I'll post patterns when I can or give the appropriate credit to the pattern source. The greatest knitting website is www.knittingpatterncentral.com, and it would be the ultimate to get something I knitted posted there.

It's a good thing that this program saves the blog automatically, Safari just quit for some stupid reason but thankfully I didn't lose anything. Safari is the web browser for Macs for those of you heathens that still use PCs. Come away from the dark side.

Well, after playing with the blog settings, it's now 4:21 am , so I think I'll try and go back to bed. Good night all.