Labor Day!

For Labor Day weekend, Tim, Jon, Hannah and I all drove to Arkansas to visit Cousin Charles!

We went hiking, went to the lake, played mini-golf (twice!), went to several parks, visited Charles's dorm room, tried to find him a wife, and bought and modified nerf guns!

While on a hike, Jon and Hannah stop to advertize College T-shirts with a student-y pose!


At Gator Golf, Hannah and I stopped to ride a zebra!!

Tim interrupts some strangers' game to pose and shout, "I'm on a zebra! ...Huah!"

And of course, my favorite photo happened when we got lost on the way to church. Charles took a turn onto "Best Friend Lane" to pull over and call his parents.

I was going to "enhance" this photograph the way most teenage girls do, and add a caption from this video, but without the guys' permission, I hesitated.

Dining Out

Last Saturday was the Air National Guard's Dining out at the Hyatt.
Months ago, Tim bought us some tickets. The hotel offered a discounted room price for the airmen, so we decided to make an evening of it.

Formal attire was required, so I wore a black evening gown a lady at church gave me. Tim was required to wear his Blues a certain way. Some of the older men (especially those higher up in the guard) had snazzy "mess dress" covered in metals and ribbons.

At the mixer, I was able to meet some of those "snazzy" older men who were Tim's supervisors. I shook hands with a lot of people, received some charming compliments, smiled a lot, and forgot a million names.

We met up with the Colliates, a couple from our church, and all decided to get our portraits taken before the dinner since I forgot my camera, and the hall was crowded, and we weren't buying drinks. (While in line, I recognized a couple from Halstead. I couldn't remember their names, but I'm sure they would know Eden or Dale, or even Paul.) Tim and I were excited to find that the two background options for the photos were extremely cheesy! We chose the blue-swirly background with a fake, wrought-iron fence, a wooden chest stacked with fake books in front of us, with an American flag off to the side. When we get the pictures in the mail, I'll be sure to post them.

The dinner itself reminded me somewhat of the Feast our school used to have. It took place in a huge ballroom, and there were over 500 guests. Over salad, we watched traditional ceremonies and then made several toasts. We were entertained by the banter of two officials on opposite sides of the room with microphones. They explained a strict, silly set of dining rules, and then explained the consequences.

A giant jayhawk-shaped drink dispenser was wheeled to one end of the room. Various people got reported for breaking rules, and each had to follow a silly procedure while toasting with the bird's drink. No one was allowed to clap, but we were given spoons which we used to bang on the table to show approval. Clapping would get you sent to the bird, or "Grog" as they called it. Other offenses I noticed that night were: bringing alcohol from the mixer into the ballroom, bringing in the hat with the uniform, leaving the room (even to go to the bathroom) and wearing the wrong ribbons. Only airmen went to the Grog, and higher officials at that. The only exception was a confused girl who was called up for no reason. Her boyfriend then got a mike and proposed to her. She looked truly surprised, which I found refreshing, and everyone was so excited, a few people even started clapping...

The silliness ended when dinner was served. Waiters squeezed around the tables with huge trays, and everyone chatted over grilled chicken and steak. I whispered in Tim's ear which silverware to use when, and he reminded me who people were, and that I had some food on my face. When I cleaned my plate and it got whisked away, I traded my apple-pie cake for Tim's dessert, which had sat on its fancy plate the whole meal. It was possibly the richest and tastiest chocolate cake I had ever had!

A speaker gave us a talk about the economy for a while, while I watched a few tables over where a slightly tipsy woman grow greener and greener till a few gentlemen escorted her out. Her eyes were big, and her cheeks were puffed out as she held her fist against her mouth. I wondered whether or not she threw up in the hall while I heard about China's quest for African resources.

Soon, the chaplain came and gave his benediction, and then the dance floor was opened, playing music for slow dancing, swing dancing, and jazzy dancing. The lights were dimmed and tables emptied as everyone got up to visit. Our evening ended overlooking Wichita from our 11th floor hotel room with a McDonald's drink and a good book.

Support your Local Dishwasher

I will be writing about my Labor Day weekend... and The Move, but I'd like to interrupt those posts with a small thing:

While washing a pancake pan, I quickly grabbed the dishsoap bottle and made a small squirt across its animal-shaped pancake molds.

I had to stop for a second because the basic shape looked familiar. I finally realized that it was blood! Not the color of blood, or even the shape blood would make if it happened to drip on a pan, but it was the same shape of the fake blood splatter on the jail cell floor in Support Your Local Sheriff!

Joe Danby: You expect me to sit here in this lousy cell on that...
What is that red stuff all over the floor there?
Jason McCullough: Oh, uh... [waves his boot over the paint] ...that's the poor fella that crossed the line earlier today.

Memories

I Interviewed at Park Elementary today...
I didn't get to talk with the principal because she was busy addressing a behavior problem with a victim and his parent in her office.

The secretaries were kind, and excited that I told them I had attended Park for a year. They informed me that my kindergarten teacher was still there, teaching first grade.

As the door to the principal's office swung open, I could catch part of the conversation. "Who bit you? Was it Joseph with white skin and blonde hair, or was it YOseph?"

It must've been the later because a chubby Mexican boy walked in to sulk in the corner. I glanced at the kid and gave him the smallest of sympathetic smiles because it was all too familiar of a situation...

"Who bit you? Was it Grace with white skin and curly hair, or was it Graciella?"
...only in my case, it was the former

Trade Secrets

While visiting my family the other day, I mentioned to my mother that perhaps twelve hours was too few. She said,

"Well, Tim's going to be really busy, and when your husband is busier, you get busier so you just have to..."

Joel walked into the room and remarked, "Oooh! letting me in on the trade secrets, eh?!"



Speaking of trade secrets, I've been reading a book lately. It isn't a fun read, but I'm glad I'm doing it. It covers a subject I've been trying to figure out on my own for the past year or so. I feel that it's put my thoughts into words, and has given me more situations and opportunities to apply it to.

The book is called Love and Respect and it does a fairly good job of summing up the main problem in male/female communication (while admitting it probably isn't the ONLY problem).



It states that women need to feel loved most of all, an obvious need that's no surprise. It says that men need to feel respected above all else. I feel I would have to disagree with the choice of the word "respect" but the author is right. Men feel loved by feeling valued as a person, and trusted to do the right thing in a situation.

Most problems are centered around men doing things that women percieve as unloving, and women doing things that men percieve as disrespectful. Basically, each gender needs to think about what they are doing that could be offensive, and work it out with two big scoops of understanding!

End-O-Summer Thoughts and Quotes

Heat, ma'am! it was so dreadful here, that I found there was nothing left for it but to take off my flesh and sit in my bones. ~Sydney Smith, Lady Holland's Memoir

• The wedding was great! I was very pleased with how everything turned out. One guest is said to have remarked, "This feels just like a movie! And you know what? We're all in it!"

If a June night could talk, it would probably boast it invented romance. ~Bern Williams

• I gained some cool new silver-soldering skills working at Mathew's Gallery in Wichita! It's been great to work alongside new Christian friends.


• Actually visiting parents and inlaws is a new experience for me! It's a little strange, but I like it!


• Tim must be a family man now because he "...traded in his Mustang for a minivan (actually a Volkswagon Jetta with 4 doors)" I'd like to point out that it was Tim's idea originally. We both are happy with its practicality... and the fact that it could kick the Mustang's butt in a race anyday!

Whatever was required to be done, the Circumlocution Office was beforehand with all the public departments in the art of perceiving--HOW NOT TO DO IT.

~Dickens, Little Dorrit

• I've been fighting my way through the bureaucracy of name-changing in 100 degree weather. After driving all the way downtown and parking in a 75 cent parking garage (I'd like to mention that since it was my third time there, I finally figured out where to park!) ...and after getting through the Wichita Courthouse's metal detectors (this time without my pocketknife) I was told that the social security department isn't in the courthouse, but in an office back on the other side of town... When I finally got there, after driving a few loops, (first missing the street, then the building) I was told to take a number and sit down. I sat down, dazed, among a 50-person crowded waiting room. Needless to say, it was a 50 minute wait.

Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it. ~Russel Baker

• School is about to start! Tim is returning to Butler to get a degree, while I am transfering to WSU. Things will be a little crazy for a while. Tim is currently working 2nd shift while I work first. When school starts, he'll be a full time student and work full time (tee-hee! I accidentally typed "Wok full time" ...man, I wish!) In October, we'll switch things up a bit when Tim has to work 3rd shift. We're praying that that will work out okay with minimal stress!

Then followed that beautiful season... Summer....Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscapeLay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Wedding Preparations!

I love to make things. I love the little details when it comes to party planning. I like certain things to happen my way. This leads to me doing a lot of things by hand for my wedding. (Of course, I have to mention my awesome mother who has been doing a LOT of work in the other areas!)
First, I put together my bouquet:
Then, Tim's boutonniere:Then lots of others!!
And a flower-girl basket!
I did NOT make each flower by hand... These were decorations from a storefront! I just had to re-string them!
the start of a cake topper
Finally, my friends, we have some jewelry wax. I used this to form a ring for Tim. Which we then used to make a mold out of investment and a vacuum machine, and finally we poured in some gold! I don't have a picture of Timmy's ring yet... I'll leave that up to your imagination!

Some people may not enjoy getting wrapped up in the details of wedding planning... Some people may not enjoy weddings period!
(Heh... I love that I ended that sentence without a period.)