Me and Mom

Last weekend I went to Houston and got to see my mom's office for the first time. It is on the 30th floor and has quite a view from the terrace.

The building also is very reflective so I took a picture of us while we were out there.

This is our actual reflection in the window! It reminded me of the Chicago bean!

(Chicago 2006)

Sadie n Me

 Today is the 2 year anniversary of when I brought Sadie home! I had been visiting the SPCA with Lori and had my eye on the cutest little black dog. I think she had her eye on me too! When I would come and look at all the dogs, Sadie would stand up on her hind legs and watch me walk around the whole place until I left. Then one day Lori talked me into adopting her. It was January 17, 2008.

Sadie's story really starts with Nick.

Nick was very old and pretty sick when I got him in 2006. He lived with me almost a full year and when we said goodbye I thought I'd never be able to love another dog the same way. Well, I lasted almost 3 months before I ended up with Sadie.

Needless to say, I am completely smitten by her.  She is my alarm clock, my faithful companion, my exercise program, and my friend. I still love her ears and her playful personality. Even people who don't like dogs tend to like Sadie. She is very sweet and definitely knows how to put the "puppy eyes" to use for her good. I have really enjoyed having her and today I am celebrating our 2 year anniversary. Haha!

Christmas in pictures

Sadie helped Dad carve the turkey on Christmas eve.

After a delicious feast with Mary, Jorge, Michael and Stephen, we all headed to Corpus to spend Christmas day with Grandma and Grandpa.  Along the way we crossed the Navidad River!

We took G&G out for steak and loaded them down with gifts.

Then we all went to Grandad's house for dessert.

Jenny taught Sadie how to be a therapy dog at the assisted living center. The residents all love petting her when we come.

The end of a decade

There has been lots of talk this week about the end of the decade, so I started thinking back on it.

When this decade started...
I was in high school.
I had to take my camera to CVS for the pictures to be developed.
Ben Butler was 5 years old!!
I shared a '93 Mitsubishi Eclipse with my dad.
I carried a giant book full of CDs in my car.
And AOL instant messenger was how we talked online.

They are calling this the technology decade, and for good reason. We have worked our way to instant gratification-- through iTunes, amazon, Kindle, GPS, smart phones, digital cameras, facebook, Twitter, and on demand movies... just to name a few.

In this decade... I graduated from high school, college, and grad school.  So maybe for me this should be the decade of higher education, and of course technology. I have GPS, digital camera, and music all on my phone. I no longer carry Mapscos, film, or CDs in my car.  I don't even know how to log onto AIM anymore, because we have texting, G-chat, and facebook. 

I am hoping this coming decade will also carry lots of new and exciting life changes.  Who knows where it will take me... so here's to 2010-2019!!  (Wow that sounds weird!)

Big D

Today I am back at work after a lovely long weekend of Christmas break.  It's a good thing I enjoy my job because I am especially envious of those still on break this week.  Fortunately for me, I have New Years Day off so I get to head to Dallas on Thursday after work to celebrate the end of 2009 with my fellow Class of 2009 Doctors of Audiology! I will pick up Julia at Love Field and then spend the evening celebrating and reuniting with Greg & Misty, Bodes, Reagan, and Rachel.  I can't believe how lucky we are that this worked out! I miss these guys like crazy since we graduated in May.  There are some other things I miss about Dallas as well...  Potbelly, DSW, Whole Foods chicken salad, dog school, UGM, and my favorite friends, to name a few.  Maybe I will get to experience some of these things as well on my visit.  For  now, I better get back to work.  I hope to post a few pictures from Christmas soon. We shall see!

My favorite Christmas scripture

John 3:17  "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

This is probably not frequently quoted around Christmas time, but I love it because it tells exactly why God chose to send his Son.  And after all, that is what Christmas is all about! 

I imagine this verse is probably one of the most overlooked in the whole Bible because it follows right after John 3:16, which is undoubtedly the most quoted verse of all.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life..... For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

Thankful

When I was a student, I frequently said I was most looking forward to Sunday afternoons post-grad school.

Well, here I am at home on a Sunday afternoon, and I have to say I am very grateful that my to do list today includes (1) go to zumba, (2) make zucchini bread, (3) wrap a few gifts, and (4) maybe bathe Sadie instead of (1) start a paper, (2) finish research analysis, and (3) read 100 pages about auditory processing disorders.

Yes, life post-grad school is pretty good.

the prettiest tree in Waco

He gives me hope

Today I'm praising God...
-For Stellan's Victory.
-that even when life looks bleak, I am confident He holds my future.

And I trust in Him.

-for reminding me that PF is not a lways a death sentence*.
-because I know Jesus has the power to restore me.
-that on my first day at BSF, God's already talking to me.
-because I know He's not finished with me yet.
Today I've been reminded that even when there is no hope, there is God. And He always comes through. Sometimes it is not on our terms, but that's okay because He is God and He's in control.

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you." Isaiah 26:3


*Tonight I heard about a man who just got his 2nd lung transplant. He is 65 years old, diabetic, and was less than 100 lbs when he went in for it. They told his family he may not make it off the table, and he did. Praise God!

43 families.

The title for this post was going to be "Every day is someone's last" - but that seemed a bit too morbid for a title. You may have guessed I'm writing about the tragedy that took place at Ft. Hood today. My heart goes out to the 43 families who were personally impacted by this senseless shooting. Loss of a loved one is so hard to deal with, especially when it is sudden and unexpected. I don't think I'll ever understand how anyone makes it through losing a child. One thing I've learned over these past 2 years is that there is a day that each and every one of us will leave this life on earth, and we have to be ready on that day. We don't know when it is, and we have no control over when it will come. And when our time does come, we have to be ready to go. I don't know if this is something most people learn at 26, but for me it has really hit home these past few years since losing Uncle Jim, Mama Dara, Aunt Peggy, and Uncle Dan so close together. During Uncle Dan's last week of life (if you can call it that when you are dependent on life support), I heard the Chris Tomlin song I will rise about a hundred times. It reminded me that we all will face "our time" and when it comes we should be ready and willing to go. The harder part of that is letting the people we love go when it is their time. The truth is that any day can be anyone's last, and every day is someone's. One day ours too will come. Will you be ready?

Fun at work

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October in pictures!

I know it's not over yet, but I couldn't resist. Here's what I've been up to!

October 3rd: FC Anniversary and Staff Reunion

October 10th: Houston to see Ben march and run cross country!
October 17th: Dallas for Rae & Liv's Birthday Party!

October 24th: Baylor Homecoming!

And next weekend I'm off to Little Rock... so perhaps more pictures to follow!

a zumba!

So some awesome and generous ladies at my church decided to start up a zumba class just for kicks. Turned out to be a huge hit and people flock to it! Some are good at it, some are pretty bad (like myself), but we all have a great time. Church is a totally safe place to work out, where it is okay to have fun while making a fool of yourself in the company of friends. It was such a hit that they decided to offer it three times a week, so that is where I'm headed tonight! Look out, world ;-)

Marching Mustangs

This weekend I went to Houston to watch Ben march in the band. It's so wild to see him in high school, because he was so young when I was in band myself. He looks great when he marches and this week he was named marcher of the week! AND (drumroll please) he was the 1st JV finisher from Memorial HS at the cross country meet on Saturday! Way to go Ben!

(He is the trumpet player on the far right.)

Random

Well, I am locked out of the house again so I figured why not blog a little? Thank goodness for this nifty iPhone... We'll see how long the battery holds out! I sometimes share recipes on here but today I will share something I do NOT suggest making. Crock pot broccoli cheese soup. Ick, weirdest looking stuff ever. Actually didn't taste too horribly though. Just not something I'll try again.

I received a call today from the national bone marrow registry saying that I am a possible match for someone with a rare form of leukemia. Transplant is usually a last ditch effort when all other treatments have failed. When I joined the registry last spring they told us that we would most likely never be called so when it happened I was quite taken aback. I have decided to go forward with the process for now to see if I might be a suitable donor for this person. There is about a 5% chance, I am told. So, I will leave it in God's hands. After all, he made me... And him.

Not much is going on in my life right now other than work, which I do enjoy. I have lived here long enough that it is officially past time for me to find some friends and hobbies. Not sure what that will entail, because I don't just want to jump into something for the sake of doing something. I want to find something that I am passionate about that has Purpose. I'm keeping my mind open and waiting to see what is next. If it's not getting married and having kids, that is fine, but what is it? I know that is blunt but that's where I am right now. A real life grown up without a real sense of purpose. And I hate that.

So anyway, that's it for now. I guess it's about time to hide a key!! :)

Monterey

I just got back from a whirlwind weekend in Monterey, CA!

Check out the pictures in my Picasa album. Hint: it's the 'my Photos' link --->

mine!

Homemade hummus

I am not the person who would normally create my own homemade hummus, but this week I decided to try this new recipe from MckMama. Long story short, I ended up cooking my own garbanzo beans. I know, strange. (P.S. Did you know beans take like 10 hrs to make if you use the proper method?) Anyway, I ended up with extra beans because, low and behold, after you cook them they practically triple in size. So,.. in the process I found out that garbanzo beans are the same as chickpeas which meant that I could try this recipe for hummus. I'm not sure how it really tasted because A) I didn't have any tahini, and B) the three cheese panetini crackers I ate it with were really tasty!

Oh, and the corn and bean salad turned out okay, too.

Ransom

A couple of weeks ago when I heard this song on the radio, one particular word popped out at me. It's a word I've heard probably hundreds of times in this context, but that time it really grabbed my attention and I've been thinking about it ever since. The word is ransom. We hear it in church all the time, that Jesus paid our ransom. If you're like me and you've been in church your whole life, a lot of these words and phrases, what I like to call Christianese, sound so familiar and casual that we can easily miss the impact of these foundational words. I started thinking about the literal definition of the word "ransom" and I suddenly saw the picture of Christ in a whole new light. Miriam Webster defines ransom as a price paid or demanded for the release of someone or something from captivity.

The truth of the matter is this: all of us have been held captive by the enemy. Imagine for just a moment being kidnapped and held captive against your will. In order to be released from this bondage, a price must be paid: our ransom. What is the ransom, in this case? Life. Blood. Jesus. A life for a life. "For it is blood that makes an atonement for the soul." (Leviticus 17:11b) God in his mercy offered his Son as the ransom (or payment) for me. When I deserved God's wrath and punishment, he instead offered to pay my ransom. He set me free.

Dinnertime!

Well, I finally made it to the store and was able to cook dinner at home this week. I'm hoping to eat out less, even though it's hard while living with college students! I have a basic rule I follow when choosing recipes: no more than 5 ingredients, not including basics like salt, pepper, butter and flour. So for those who, like me, appreciate quick and easy recipes, here you go...

Beef Tenderloin with Peppercorns (only I used pork chops)
-2 beef tenderloin steaks (1 inch thick)
-2 tsp. cracked whole black peppercorns
-2 Tbsp. butter
-1 tsp. all-purpose flour
-salt & pepper
-1/3 cup light cream or milk
-1 Tbsp. horseradish mustard (I used dijon mustard b/c that's what I had)

1. Trim fat from steaks. Sprinkle cracked black pepper evenly over both sides of steaks; rub in with your fingers.
2. Cook steaks for 10-13 minutes in a heavy skillet or on the grill, turning once. Transfer steaks to dinner plates. Cover & keep warm.
3. Meanwhile, for sauce: In small saucepan melt 2 teaspoons butter over medium heat. Stir in flour, salt, and ground black pepper. Slowly stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Stir in mustard.
4. Spoon sauce over steaks.

Squash Casserole
-2 lb. summer squash, sliced, cooked and drained
-1/2 cup onion, chopped and cooked with squash
-8 oz. herb-flavored stuffing mix
-1/3 cup butter, melted
-1 can cream of chicken soup
-1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

1. Melt butter and add to stuffing mix.
2. Mix remaining ingredients with half the stuffing mixture and place in greased casserole dish or 9X13 baking dish.
3. Top with remaining stuffing mix and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. (I sprinkled on some grated cheese during the last 10 minutes of cooking.)

Mashed Potatoes (always a classic!)
-5 small potatoes
-1/2 cup milk
-1/4 cup butter

1. Boil 6 cups of water.
2. Peel and chop potatoes and place in boiling water.
3. Blend potatoes, milk and butter with a mixer.

ENJOY!

Sweet little brown bear

 

Um...thanks?

 

A little gift Sadie brought me last week :)

August Pics

It hit like a storm

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a compulsive vacuumer. I can be watching TV, or cooking dinner, and then all of the sudden I am vacuuming... the whole house. I used to vacuum our house in Dallas at least 3 times a week. (Due mostly to our 2 dogs and the dirt they tracked in through the doggy door.) Well. My new house comes with a maid so we don't even have a vacuum. Only she doesn't come in the summer months. I have a tiny hand one that sucks (or doesn't suck...however you want to put it) and a handheld canister vacuum that I inherited from my grandmother. Which is an ORECK. Wow!

But... On moving day back in May, my mom asked me if I had any bags for the little Oreck, which I did, and I got them out for her. She never ended up changing the bag for some reason and then they got lost in the move, so I was left with an incredibly overstuffed vacuum bag upon arriving in Waco which I promptly threw away expecting to find the fresh bags reasonably soon. Needless to say, I have been unable to vacuum since moving to Waco. (Tragedy, I know.) I have tried to sweep every couple weeks just because Sadie's hair is kind of ALL OVER the floor, but it's just not as rewarding. So, one night after work I finally made my way over to the Oreck store to pick up some new bags. And WALLA! I was back in business. I quickly vacuumed around all the baseboards, the bottom of the pantry, the perimeter of my bedroom, the stairs. Oh it was so much fun. I know, I'm crazy, but hey - what can I say? :)


In other news... I've been picking stickers out of Sadie's paws all summer during walks around our extremely dry and somewhat unkempt neighborhood. But today, I learned that she not only knows how to get them out herself, but is actually quite skilled at it. She never stops surprising me.

On our recent trip to Corpus (more pics to come).

Is she spoiled or what?

Fancy feast (not the cat food)

I recently discovered this recipe in a magazine and decided it looked simple enough to try. (I tend to stick to 5 ingredients or fewer.) Despite the fairly easy recipe, it turned out looking like possibly the fanciest thing I've ever made. And it was quite delicious, I might add.

Schlitterbahnnnn!!!

With our exchange students Jack and Max!

Sadie vs Cat

Sadie spotted a cat in our backyard tonight so I decided to let her go after it, assuming the cat would clear the fence long before she could catch it. After 3 failed attempts, the cat decided to go under the fence instead and then climbed up in a tree. Sadie spent the next half hour trying to jump the fence. I cannot believe how high she can jump.

July

Here we are at the end of July. It's hard to believe. I've been at my new job for 2 months now and some of my classmates haven't even started yet. I was glancing at my calendar this morning and realized all the fun weekends I've had in July. Let me recap.

July 4th we drove to Mt. Ida Arkansas to see Camp Ozark and the lake. Then we drove Ben all the way back to Frontier camp and dropped him off. It was a whirlwind weekend but well worth the trip.

July 11th I spent in Dallas and got a last minute invite to the Keith Urban concert.

July 18th I spent the day with my sister in Waco. We haven't seen each other since May (even though I am living in her house right now) so it was very enjoyable.

Last weekend the 25th we had a family day at the river with all the cousins, etc. and 2 exchange students from China. We brought out the RV and had a tailgate and boat day. I love the lake!

Which reminds me, we have been to the river almost every Sunday of this month, and lots of Fridays. So much fun. I could just live out there!

This coming weekend we're going to Schlitterbahn... I can hardly wait!!

God.

I was humbled when reading this on Laurren's blog today, and couldn't resist sharing. It's always worth being reminded of His infinite power and worth.

He breathed life into existence, He walked on water, He healed the blind man, He healed the crippled, He fed 5000, He parted the Red Sea, He spared Job's life from the attacks of satan himself, He was in the blazin furnace, He is the beginning and the end,the Alpha and Omega, He cast our sins as far as the east is from the west, He numbered every hair on our head, He holds every tear we shed in the palm of His hand, He calmed the raging sea, He is close to the broken hearted, He gave His only son, so we might live, He has forgiven us, He has paid our debt, HE LOVES, CARES, RE-ASSURES, PROMISES, BLESSES, and most important HE WILL NOT LEAVE US NOR FORSAKE US, EVER.

Window Sticker

My friend Julia sent this to me yesterday. :)

MJ

Yeah... I'm posting about Michael Jackson. Can you believe it? I heard a discussion on the radio recently about the fact that he had accepted Christ sometime during the week before his death. Obviously, I have no idea if this is true or not, but I am hopeful at the possibility. Some people probably think there is no way that mj could be a Christian. How could someone accused of child molesting, drug abuse, and who knows what else be considered a Christian? Well, that is the beauty of Christianity. Jesus paid it all. Nobody is past the point of acceptance by God as long as they put their faith in Jesus.

How aggies measure height...

My brother is officially passing all of us up, one by one. This measuring session (last weekend in Houston) proved that Jenny is still a wee bit taller than Ben, and evidently, mom as well. But Ben is glad to report that he has finally outgrown mom for sure. By this time next year he'll be driving!!!

Check this out!

http://www.freerice.com/

This site is amazing (for nerds like me). You get to rack up points by answering questions and for every answer you get right, 10 grains of rice are donated to the UN World Food Program. Vocab is on the homepage, but there are tons of other subjects like math, languages, geography, art... just look under the subjects tab. I love it!

Sadie at our new casa

My audiometer FINALLY came!!

YAY

June: transitions

This month I have officially begun my transition into adulthood (despite living in a college house on Baylor's campus). This month I traded in my EMT license for an Audiologist license, started my job at Waco ENT, got business cards, got my own audiometer, applied for my C's and got my first real pay check. I think I am still in denial about being 26. I don't feel quite that old and often wonder why I haven't settled down and started a family. Then I remember that I spent 8 years in college. Yikes. At least I am finally finished and beginning the next part of the journey. I am in Waco indefinitely, not knowing what all the future holds. For now it's just life 1 day at a time.

nancy

Many of you know about my hiking experiences last year. Some of my teammates have kept on hiking & kept on fundraising during the past year. If you can help at all, please go to Nancy's page and donate to the cause! Thank you.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/ntx/BigBhke09/nkohlman

Word of the day: portmanteau

Seeing as tomorrow is Juneteenth, I have stumbled upon a strange and new (to me) word. The term "portmanteau word" is used to describe a linguistic blend, namely "a word formed by blending sounds from two or more distinct words and combining their meanings" (source: wikipedia). Here are some examples:

Motown

brunch

Tanzania

spork

permaculture

wikipedia!

gerrymandering

chocoholic

Spanglish

Billary... and of course, Speidi.

PF sucks...

...but God is good. I stumbled upon a passage in Job tonight that caught me. After Job has lost his entire family, all of his belongings, his health and wellbeing, he is still clinging to God and even arguing with his friends about God's goodness and sovereignty. Even though he hates his life and curses the day he was born, he continues to proclaim God as king. Even as he wonders why God has allowed all of this pain, he tells his friends:

"I know that my Redeemer lives,

and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.

And after my skin has een destroyed,

yet in my flesh I will see God;

I myself will see him with my own eyes -

I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!"

Probably everyone who reads my blog knows about the recent death of my uncle Dan, which came all too quickly after Aunt Peggy's last March. These two have been added to a long list of people in our extended family who have died as a result of pulmonary fibrosis - a progressive, fatal lung disease with no known treatment at this time.

Over these past couple years I have felt that my family has been stricken... with a terrible disease, as well as with pain and suffering and loss. And through all of it I have struggled to cling to God. My faith has been shaken; I have doubted God and questioned Him... His authority, His perfect love, His very being. And here is Job, having lost everything, holding fast to his belief -- claiming it as undeniable truth -- that God reigns, that He is alive, and that He is coming back to rule the earth. And he knows that he will be alive to see it. Everlasting life... that is the promise we have in Jesus Christ. Praise him!

Waco

I have really enjoyed my 1st week in Waco. I really do like the small town feel. I just can't get over how nice everybody is here. I have lived in a small town before, and in Texas my whole life, but the people here are so friendly. Rich people, poor people, old people, young people, white people, brown people... everyone is so kind and always speaks to one another. It is so different from the fast pace of being in Dallas where everyone is in a hurry and in pursuit of their own interests. I think I might stay awhile....

time flies

Where'd my "little" brother go? Apparently he's starting high school next year...

the month of may

This past month has been very busy and fun.
Here's a look at what I've done. (I do enjoy rhymes.)

Finished work at the Callier Center...even had my employment "terminated" -harsh.
GRADUATED... 3 days of thrills!
Saw Lady Antebellum & Kenny Chesney - one in the rain and one in the sun.
Outran dangerous weather on foot...twice.
Enjoyed 3 weeks of "retirement" - probably about all I could handle.
Went to camp with Miss Ashley to see Liz and Emily...and everyone else.
Had a little bit of deja vu as I moved BACK to Waco - this time without 12 flights of stairs.
Took a road trip to Colorado for Air Force Academy graduation. Awesome.
Discovered somewhere along the way that the state of Kansas has 1/2 the population of Houston.
Returned to Texas to find that summer has definitely arrived.

I start work June 1st... will have to let you know how the 1st week goes :)

What a great week!

This has been an excellent last week in Dallas. Technically, I'll be here next week.. but this is my last week of working and living in Dallas before I start packing like crazy.

Monday we celebrated eCast's 25th birthday with a delicious home-cooked meal and fabulous black bottom cupcakes.
Tuesday... Cinco de Mayo celebration at Chuy's. Mmm, free queso.
Wednesday I got to meet Abby. What a sweet pea.
Thursday... Beckley BrewHouse.
Friday: LAST DAY OF WORK. Got to wear jeans and go home at 12!

What a great week!

And baby makes 6!

...little Martin girls, that is.
Introducing Abigail Hope, born on Cinco de Mayo at 5:29 a.m.!

She is 6 lbs and 19 inches. Here are her lucky sisters/cousins...

Cinco de Mayo

In case you were wondering (as I was)...

Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for "fifth of May") commemorates the Mexican army's unlikely defeat of French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. The outnumbered Mexicans defeated a much better-equipped French army that had known no defeat for almost 50 years.

While Cinco de Mayo has limited significance nationwide in Mexico, the date is observed in the United States and other locations around the world as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride. A common misconception in the United States is that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico's Independence Day, which actually is September 16th, the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico.

adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinco_de_mayo

MAY 2009

I can't believe it is finally, really, actually MAY 2009. My classmates and I have been waiting for this for the better part of 4 years, thinking it may never come. And here it is. Everything is starting to fall into place for graduation...

Haircut: Check.

New fun dress: Check.

Regalia: Check.

Hooding tickets: Check.

Graduation tickets: Check.

So now I'm just waiting for the next week to come and go so my mom can come up and help me get ready for the big day, followed by the big move to Waco. I'm ready for Mothers' Day, too, so if we could just fast forward this next week that would be super!