Fancy That!

Texas Classic = Domination

2012-02-12T13:52:00.000-08:00

It's been an exciting weekend for the Longhorns.Wednesday was the evening before our first game. I was very excited, since practicing without playing games can be quite monotonous. I was ready for the excitement of competition. The girls were ready, too. The energy around Red and Charline McCombs field was seemingly ideal - excitement, focus, and committment all wrapped up in one amazing group. What seemed ideal proved to be so as early as the first competition.The Texas Classic tournament this year included CSU Fullerton, University of Texas San Antonio, Colorado State, and my Horns. I am the host of this tournament when it comes to medical stuff, which means I am at the field for every game. I set up the locker rooms and dugouts with water, Gatorade, injury ice, and anything else the other athletic trainers might need. I actually like hosting, because I have been to tournaments where the host(s) was/were less than friendly and helpful. This really sucks, so I try to not be that person. The only thing I don't like about hosting is being at the field for 14 hours/day. But, even when I'm exhausted I try to set an example of how I would like to be treated when I travel. I try to be friendly, accommodating, accessible, and visible. Hosting a tournament is a great opportunity for networking. I've met all the athletic trainers who are here this weekend before, so it's great to see familiar faces. We were going to all try and hang out one night but as is typical with athletic training, treatments ran longer than expected and/or each of us were exhausted and as we considered the time we had to be up the next morning we decided sleeping was a better option. Okay...I decided sleeping was a better option. I was a lame-o, I'll admit it. But in my defense, I am almost 3o years old. And it is currently 40 degrees outside, so going outside is not all that appealing, even if you're going outside to go somewhere and be inside. My last excuse - to be the hostess with the mostess, I need to get my beauty sleep! :) Anyhoo, our first game was Thursday night. We played CSU Fullerton. I have a soft spot in my heart for Fullerton for a few reasons: Julie Max, Jenni Rieger, Anna August, and last year when we played in their tournament they did an amazing job of hosting. So, it was a bittersweet victory, mainly because we spanked them 23-0 in a run rule victory. This was a new record for the 'Horns. Basically our bats were on fire and our pitcher threw a 2-hitter. Our next game was against UTSA. We beat them 12-0 (also a run-rule game) and we had 19 hits in the game, one hit shy of our existing record of 20 hits in one game, I believe. Our third and fourth games also ended up in the 'Horns' favor, beating Colorado State in 7 innings, and beating UTSA once again by a run-rule victory. This put us in the championship game, played today against Colorado State. We beat them 8-0 in five innings - our 4th run-rule victory of the 5-game tourney. Oh, and this was the first time I've ever seen softball played in freezing rain and snow flurries. (Yes, those of you with The Longhorn Network, it was me you saw jumping up and down like a 5 year old girl on Christmas morning. I love snow, okay?) The high temp during the game was a toasty 39 degrees. Needless to say, with a 70-hour work week in the books, I am relieved to be in my warm apartment in my sweats getting ready to nap on the couch!Until next weekend, Hook 'Em!

Operation: Best Year Yet

2012-01-10T15:22:00.000-08:00

I'm over a week into 2012 and I've decided to set some goals. There are some things I hope to improve upon this year and I don't really make progress unless I have goals to reach for. This is mostly because I'm turning 30 this April and the more I think about it, the more I feel the need to do better. I'm not freaked out by turning 30, but I want to hit 30 in stride and make sure it is not my peak...especially since I'm still single. I want to be a more complete person at 30 than I have ever been. But, I don't just plan on hitting my goals and slipping back into current habits as I age. I want to be more content, more spiritual, more fit, and have more fun. I want to stress less. That said, my goal date is 4/6/2012. The day I turn 3o. By the day I turn 30 I hope to have made some lifestyle changes that will last for the next 30 years. Here they are:

1.) The necessity of a gluten-free diet has made keeping weight on a bit of a challenge, and it has also made it hard to perform the endurance exercise (triathlon) I have enjoyed over the last 12 years because I can't consume carbohydrates like I used to. I know some of you may be rolling your eyes thinking "this girl can't keep weight on and she's complaining!?!! HMPH!" But bear with me and you'll begin to understand. On April 6, 2012 I hope to be the most fit I've ever been. This time I want a different kind of fit, including 6-pack abs (I have to include this or I'll skip working my core like I have all of 2011). After all, after 12 years I'm ready for something new. I want to focus more on building muscle and strength and less on endurance. Decrease fat mass and increase lean mass. So I will utilize our state-of-the-art weight room and set a goal of working out for at least 45 minutes 5 days each week. I would love to work out longer and more often, but realistically with my team being in season I'd be setting myself up for failure. I'll be forced to utilize hotel gyms regularly which will present a challenge also. But, I embrace this challenge, knowing that I can do this. Anyone who knows me well probably thinks I'm nuts because I've always been disciplined in working out. This week, though, I've been honest with myself and admitted that save the 3 months I trained for a triathlon, my exercise routine in 2011 was abysmal at best, and more out of obligation than enjoyment. I think the only reason you can't tell is because the fat I've been eating is on my arteries, not my waistline. So, starting two days ago, that's changing. I lifted yesterday and I cannot successfully sit on a toilet seat today without wincing. That means I've started off right. It also means I'd forgotten the love-hate relationship I have with delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and was perhaps too ambitious yesterday.

2.) Eat less sugar and less fat. Cut back on cheese intake, sweets, and soda. Again, back to the gluten-free diet. While this diet has dropped me down to my weight in high school, it has also eliminated the foods I used to snack on which has forced me to eat and develop severe cravings for chips, cheese, soda, and chocolate. I hope that by 4/6/12, my diet will be firmly centered around veggies, lean meat, rice and corn, and fruit. I will have a handle on my sugar cravings. Even this week, I have improved. The first day I thought about chocolate all freakin' day, and today, 6 days later, I no longer have those strong cravings. One day at a time. I will only drink soda on Friday and Saturday, and will limit to one soda/day.

3.) Grow in my faith and my relationship with God. Like my exercise commitment, my relationship with God has suffered this past year. This year I have already begun a one-year reading plan and have thoroughly enjoyed taking time to read the Word each day. This will surely become more challenging as softball starts up and I'm going all over the country and working 12 hour days routinely. But, I will persevere and I will make time for it. I find that when I am consistent with exercising it is easier to get out of bed that 15 minutes early to spend time with the Lord. I'm hoping this proves true for the next 3 months. I also commit to including prayer time each day, whether it be 5 or 20 minutes, I know that without prayer I cannot draw near to God so I need to change that.

4.) Be more social. I have a solid group of friends here in Austin now, and really do love it here. I need to keep branching out and making new friends, too, though. Again, this will be hard during softball season, but I accept the challenge. I started this challenge off with asking a guy to dance last time I went out two-stepping. He said no because he was with someone, but hey...I tried, right? I am also going to have a drink on Thursday with a guy I met when I was out dancing another night. I'm not super interested in him as of yet, but hey, why not go out and let a guy buy me a drink and have some good conversation?

So, that's it. Simple. To the point. At least for now. When softball starts up on Monday that may change to seemingly impossible, but I am committed. Here goes nothin'!!

Almost one year as a Texan from California

2012-01-03T18:21:00.000-08:00

It is a new year, and I'm pretty excited about it - not that 2011 was all that bad. It was a significant year for sure. In February of 2011 I became a Texan - coming up on my one year anniversary! I also became a licensed athletic trainer in the state of Texas (adding more initials behind my name), and I became a full-time collegiate athletic trainer. No more of that teaching and researching stuff on top of being an athletic trainer. Well...I guess based on my job description it was "athletic training stuff on top of being a professor and scholar." Therein became the problem - I wanted to get back to basics, and this opportunity has proven to be such a blessing. I have learned a lot about being an athletic trainer, including how much I love all that is athletic training.

It is currently January 3rd, T minus 10 days until the Longhorn softball players are due back in town. While I'm sort of dreading it, I'm also sort of excited about it. Last year was 98% magical, 2% heartbreak...although that 2% heartbreak sort of tainted the 98% magical. After all, an absolutely amazing season loses it's charm when you don't make it very far into the post season. I hope that each one of us learned something unique about themselves and about what is required to go all the way. I sure did. From February 2011 - June 2011 was a blur. Every day was a challenge, and everything was new. The athletes tested me. I was forced to problem solve like I never had before. I had to adjust to the break-neck speed of working at one of the most prestigious athletics departments in college sports. I was awed by several kick-ass thunder and lightning storms. I had to pick my jaw up off the ground as my girls hit bombs over the fence like it was going out of style, something I had never seen before. I was unfortunately put back in a position of really having to live within my means and be frugal. Maybe a certified athletic trainer will someday be paid as well as an assistant professor (my title at La Verne), but that day is not not today. I had to figure out what it was like to live thousands of miles from the most important people in my life. 2011 was a year of change, challenges, and growth, and I am so thankful for it.

So, as "doomsday" approaches, I am excited to see what the team will do this year. With the Longhorn Network, all of our games will be televised which is sort of stressful. But, as the girls roll into town - some I am still getting to know, some I know too well, some that make me shake my head in befuddlement, and some that make my day by making me laugh - I am excited to see what the 2012 season will bring.

I do realize this post makes it seem like my life is my work, and it's not. It's just what I chose to blog about today. I hope to keep up with my good friend JoDangles http://jodiatc.blogspot.com/ as she blogs about her adventures as an ATC. I'll hopefully also have some good stuff to share about life outside of work. That's the plan anyway.

Until next time, Hook 'Em Horns! Oh, and how 'bout them DUCKS!

In the car...

2011-08-12T19:02:00.000-07:00

For some reason today I was driving home and just felt peace. That got me thinking. In the car...

I can sing like an idiot and nobody can hear me.

I can sing like an idiot and not care if someone sees me.

I can honk my horn at you and feel powerful when you drive like an idiot.

I can decompress after a long day.

I can prepare for a big/hard day.

I am reminded of the fun road trips I've had with Amy singing Alanis Morissette, Heart, Reba, and Warren G...and MANY others.

I can roll down the window, hang my arm out, and feel a bit of freedom. This has been put on hold until mother nature decides to turn off the furnace that is Texas.

I can get to know my friends better on long road trips across the country. Ellie likes Michael Buble. Jodi pees a lot.

Charlie can rest his head on my shoulder and truly make me feel loved.

Charlie can barf in my car and make me glad I can give him back to his mommy.

I can crank up the Mexican mariachi station when I take my mom's car somewhere and sneakily watch it scare the bajeepers out of her next time she turns the key in the ignition.

I can yell at people who drive horribly and blow off some steam, knowing that I'd never yell at them if they could hear me so I'd better enjoy it.

I can talk to my Dad about life on our way to go fishing.

I can turn the radio off and chat with God.

I can drive down a lonely highway in Texas and see a car like the ones my friends have, and while I am always bummed it's not actually their car, it makes me glad I have such great people in my life.

I can beat Amy at "name that tune" repeatedly.

Thank goodness for the automobile! Now...if only there were no such thing as traffic.........

Inspired...

2011-08-09T19:27:00.000-07:00

I just found out that one of my best friends, Jodi, has been secretly blogging. She jokes in her blog that she only has two readers. Maybe that's because she doesn't tell anyone that she has a blog! Reading her blog has re-energized me. Not to mention I'm getting very bored with Facebook.

Not that I really have all that much exciting stuff to say, but I need something fun to do. So, it's been over a year since my last post (I honestly forgot I had a blog) but a lot has happened since May of 2010. I now live in Texas. I am almost 30 years old. This scares the crap out of me. I am still an athletic trainer, only now I wear burnt orange. Hopefully this blog will be a nice blend of funny stories, food for thought, and an overall positive contribution to this crazy monster that has become the world-wide web. Here are some random thoughts to get myself started:

I know it's lame to talk about the weather. I mean, who really wants to read about that? Well I just have to say - I am from the central valley in California where it gets up into the hundreds each summer for a week here and there. But this? This is just crazy. It's been over 100 degrees evert day for about a month straight. People around here are hoping for a hurricane. This also scares the crap out of me.

Ok, I guess that's it for now. I'll start slowly - hopefully I'll come up with something interesting to blog about in the very near future. :)

A Lesson In Grace

2010-05-31T21:04:00.000-07:00

The other day I was taught a valuable lesson in grace.

I went for a ride and was going down Bonita Avenue toward San Dimas. I noticed a lady get into her car on the right shoulder of the road. As I approached her, I saw her brake lights come on and then go off and she started to roll forward and into the lane of traffic. I slowed down so she could go ahead. Then she stopped. I kept going slowly, and when she didn't start rolling again and I was right on her rear bumper, I started to go around her. She then began to roll forward and come into traffic again...and right into me! When I got near her door, I saw she wasn't even looking at the road, she was fumbling for her seatbelt. She finally looked up and saw me and I mouthed to her "what are you doing? PAY ATTENTION!" as I threw my hand up in the air. I rode on ahead of her, she passed me and that was all I saw of her.

On my way back home coming the other way on Bonita, I passed a tricky intersection that always makes me nervous. My light was red, but the cars were in the turn lanes so I knew none were coming my direction. I began to proceed through the intersection and one of the cars in the left turn lane decided to go straight and was headed right for me. I hit my brakes and stopped, but he waved me on. I smiled, waved, mouthed "Sorry! Thank you! Sorry!!!" and he smiled at me. That was the last I saw of him.

I immediately thought of the woman I was frustrated with earlier. I should've smiled at her like that nice man smiled at me instead of giving her some serious 'tude. Then it crossed my mind that she was pulling out from a nursing home when she pulled out in front of me. Maybe she had just gotten some bad news about a loved one. And here I was, some crazy biker in spandex running through a red light and I get a smile from the guy.

Matthew 7:3 - "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"

- 3 degrees

2010-01-03T18:47:00.000-08:00

I spent the New Year's weekend in Wisconsin with Ellie, Jodi, Ellie's fiancee, Adam, and the Rozumalski family. I arrived in Wisconsin hoping to really experience cold weather...I was looking for below zero temperatures. I was also looking for a great time with two of my BFFs and one of the coolest families I know. I was not disappointed on either account. I won't talk about the Rose Bowl.

What I will talk about is a little wager that I made with Ellie. When I booked my flight, I told her if it was below zero I'd run outside in my bikini. She said "you'll never do it!" and so the bet was on. Being so generous, Ellie allowed boots which was much appreciated because the powder was up to my knees. On the night of January 1, I went for it. It was negative 3 degrees outside. See for yourself.

Then, Ellie's brother-in-law Cory attempted to one-up me. I don't think so...I may be a city girl but I don't back down from a challenge!! Can't get the video up so I may try another post. Stay tuned...

We didn't actually come up with any parameters for the bet, I've got some thinking to do about what her payment will be. Any ideas?

Cluster in the Kitchen

2009-11-30T20:58:00.000-08:00

Dear A-Ross...or A-Mo...whatever you're calling yourself these days,

I am officially entering your competition.

I am not going to blog about a slow cooker because I've never used one. That's right, I'm deprived. I'm a cluster in the kitchen. I hate to cook because cooking is frickin' annoying when you're only cooking for one. I am also not very creative in the kitchen. I pretty much stick to the basics - chicken, salmon, steak, sloppy Joes, tacos, Boboli pizza...heck I don't even make pasta anymore. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't mesmerized by the recipes you posted, and no I'm not brown-nosing...its a compliment. I think I could like cooking if I had someone to cook for. I've gotten on a kick a total of two times now of inviting people over so I can cook something more interesting than what I listed above. The first time I made Santa Fe Casserole or as my mom likes to call it, "Nacho Shit." It's pretty easy - you just dump nachos and shit into a pyrex and bake it. It's also delicious and it was a hit. That one wasn't really a challenge. My second adventure in the kitchen, however, was not easy.

In Women's health magazine, I came across a recipe for turkey-spinach lasagna. I thought "that sounds delicious, maybe Terry and Julie will come over and I can make it for them." Well that's what happened. Dinner was scheduled for 8:30 on a Monday night. I went to the store on Sunday. I arrived at the store excited but quickly became a bit stressed because there were things on the list that I had never used before and wasn't sure where to find it, like minced garlic, shredded provolone cheese, dried oregano, oven-ready lasagna noodles, and a can of crushed tomatoes. I'll be honest, I went to the store thinking "how many tomatoes should I get and how do I crush them?" So what did I do? I called my kitchen queen friend, Allison Morris. I mean, she blogs about cooking like nobody's business, she's got to be able to help me out, right? No answer.

Stress level at this point was about 4/10. Luckily, just then I saw the big can of crushed tomatoes. I went to the deli and got a big chunk of provolone cheese, and made my way through the rest of the store and struggled to successfully find everything I needed, but found it. An hour and 9 items later, I was in my car headed home. Stress level was about 2/10 when I went to bed and I was excited about the meal. At work Monday afternoon, Julie kept saying how excited she was about dinner and Terry kept texting me so my stress level returned to 4/10 as I began to wonder how I would not mess this up.

Monday night: I finished working out at about 6:45 and had to run to the store to get beer and wine. That took me 30 minutes. That put me at 7:15. Stress level 5/10 became 6/10 when I realized the meal had to cook for 45 minutes and I told them I'd have it ready at 8:30. Here's how things unfolded:

7:20 - put everything out on the counter and read the first step of the recipe about 3 times to make sure I had it right. Stress level 7/10

7:21-7:30 - turned oven on to 375 degrees and coated my pyrex pan with Pam. Put 1 1/4 cup ricotta cheese, an egg, and 1/4 tsp ground pepper in a bowl and beat it like MJ. Stood amazed at how yummy it smelled.

7:30-7:35 - re-read the next step of the recipe about 4 times because it was so confusing. Layering is hard. Also, figuring out which side of the cheese grater will yield "shredded" cheese is hard. I guessed. I shredded all the provolone. Stress level at this point is about 8/10 when I looked at the clock.

7:35: turned on some Celia Cruz and latin music. It's amazing how much it relaxes me when I'm in the kitchen. If any of you are lame-o's in the kitchen like me I strongly recommend some music to salsa to while you cook. Stress level down to 5/10.

7:36-7:45 - spread 1/4 cup of the crushed tomatoes over the bottom of the pan, placed 3 noodles, overlapping slightly, over the sauce and spread half of the ricotta mixture on top of that. Then I layered half of the fresh spinach, half the roasted turkey, and half the remaining tomatoes on top of that. Then I topped it with the remaining noodles, ricotta mixture, spinach, turkey, and provolone. Stress level still at 5/10...I think I'm almost done.

7:45 - Julie texts me and says "mmm....I'm hungry!" Stress level 6/10.

7:46 - sprayed some aluminum foil with Pam and lightly sealed the edges on top of the pyrex and put that mo-fo in the oven.

7:47 - looked at the recipe. It said to cook for 45' or until bubling and let sit for 5 minutes. Looked at the clock...7:48. Close enough.

Then, I proceeded to salsa around my kitchen, glass of wine in hand, in victory...after making sure my blinds were closed. Terry and Julie were a few minutes late which was perfect, the turkey-spinach lasagna was frickin' amazing, and I gained a little confidence in the kitchen. That confidence lasted about a day. The more I thought about it, the more the whole experience made me realize what a loser I am in the kitchen and made me think "God help my husband if I ever find one! I sure won't find one acting like a cluster in the kitchen!"

All this to say I would love a slow cooker thing so I can just throw things into it and see if it turns out yummy. That's how those things work, right? I should win just because I'm not even sure how to use the thing...I mean, that's pathetic, right? Also, I should win because you owe me since you didn't answer. I mean, what if I had actually crushed tomatoes and used that instead? Wow. Here are the ingredients if anyone is interested, it's pretty much delicious...and if I can do it right you know it must be easy...

1 1/4 cup fat-free ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
6 oven-ready lasagna noodles (half of a 12-oz box)
3 c finely chopped or torn baby spinach leaves
1 1/2 c finely chopped skinless roast turkey
3/4 cup shredded provolone cheese

Happiness is being a Detwiler

2009-11-11T22:04:00.000-08:00

As I sit in the Chicago O’Hare airport waiting to board my plane I am tired, but also have a very full heart. I arrived in Illinois on Thursday night for my cousin Dawn’s wedding reception. She was married to Brian on October 3rd and they had their wedding reception this weekend. It is now Sunday and while I’m anxious to get home so I can get ready for another busy week, I sort of want to stay here. Detwiler family functions are always a good time and I am proud to be a Detwiler. Here are the weekend’s highlights:

1) Dinner on the way from Chicago to Freeport where the Detwilers live. Me, Amy, Mom, and Dad (affectionately called “The California Detwilers”) and my cousins Dawn and Janet stopped into Red Robin. We had a great time catching up, laughing, and giving each other a hard time as usual. This included Amy and I making fun of Dawn and Janet’s accents, Dawn and Janet flirting with our waiter, Scott, on our behalf, and making fun of Scott (after he had left our table) for saying “Oh, I have a friend that lives near San Loooeees O-beeeee-spohhh.”
2) Amy and I playing with the Weber girls, Paige (8 yrs) and Faith (6 yrs) all weekend. We played with those big bouncy balls you get at the grocery store and “try to catch it without dropping it” turned into “throw it at each other as hard as you can, extra points for nailing someone in the head/face.” Watching an 8 year old girl try to catch a ball coming at her full-speed is funny, I don’t care who you are. We also danced, painted toe and finger nails (and spilled red nail polish on the carpet…oops!), and had a slumber party.

3) I have never attended a Detwiler family function where there hasn’t been a surprise of some sort. There’s some sort of tradition of which I can’t remember the name, but that doesn’t really matter because the name doesn’t make sense. So, I’ll just tell you how it unfolded. Dawn and Brian (bride and groom) were at their house with Scott and Audra (cousins…aka decoys) thinking they would soon head to Janet and Chad’s for dinner. Meanwhile, Detwilers, Kuntzelmans, Webers, Hoovers, and friends met at the town radio station about ¼ mile from Dawn’s house. We all had something that made noise – I had a ketchup bottle filled with rocks. In the dark and surrounded by corn fields for miles, we all crept down the street quietly and surrounded the house. On the count of three, we all used our noise-makers and there were pots clanging, rocks shaking, hammers banging, bells jingling…you name it, we had it. Dawn and Brian were totally puzzled and then about 30 people piled into their house. Brian was taken captive to the grocery store to buy ice cream for everyone – the duty of the groom in this particular prank. Meanwhile, all the family and friends brought food out of nowhere and we had a big potluck, visited, and watched the wedding video. I am waiting for the day that I am a target of one of these surprises but I’m thinking I’ll have to bring an unsuspecting outsider (perhaps a boy?) into the mix to have this honor bestowed on me. The Detwilers love easy prey and this fresh meat would certainly peak their interest.
4) At the reception, the groom came out of his shell. When the DJ played “Yeah” by Usher. Now, this wouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary except the fact that it was me and a couple other girls on the dance floor with Brian and all of the sudden the Usher singing “I want a lady in the street…” was drowned out by the groom shouting “BUT A FREAK IN THE BED!” Amy and I couldn’t hide our surprise and we both were like “woahhhhhh!!” and then Brian says “Shhh….don’t tell Dawn!” My new cousin is awesome!
5) My uncle Paul, cousin Dawn, and cousin Janet are all big wimps and they cry all the time. I could say “I love you, cuz” and Dawn will tear up. Same with Janet. The one that kills me is Uncle Paul. At the wedding, he danced down the aisle to keep from crying, and I could become rich if I bet someone that Uncle Paul would cry when we tell him goodbye. Every time we leave Illinois, he cries. Isn’t that sweet!!?!?!?! It melts my heart.

All this to say I love visiting Illinois. I love how much simpler life seems out there. There are country roads where it’s more common to see a tractor than another car, corn fields for miles, houses with lots of land, and people who are not completely consumed with technology like I am. I love my Dad’s side of the family because the usually remind me of the best things about myself. Even though they talk funny and cry all the time, they are amazing and beautiful people and I am blessed to call them family. Yay for good times in the Midwest!

Top 10 lessons from shopping for a new car

2009-08-16T22:35:00.000-07:00

Saturday started off well. I slept in until 10am which I didn't plan on, but when I opened my eyes and saw the clock, I was happy to have been able to sleep in for the first time in a while. The crazy part is that I'm on summer break, but I still can't seem to sleep past 8. Anyhoo, I'm in the market for a new car. I got out of bed and, over breakfast, contemplated whether I should borrow my room mates car and drive to the Subaru dealer to test drive an Outback or ride my bike there. I decided on option 2. Efficiency, after all, is my middle name. I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone, so I rode what ended up being 15 miles to the dealer in City of Industry. When I arrived, I threw on shorts and a t-shirt over my spandex and went inside (I didn't want them to think I was some kind of nut job who drives in spandex). They ended up letting me take the car by myself which was nice. I love the 2010 Outback and have decided this is the car I'm going to buy. I rode 15 miles home satisfied, excited, and relieved that I had finally made a decision. Now that I've officially finished my first "new car shopping experience," let me tell you what I've learned in the last month:

1) Car salesman are not as creepy as everyone thinks - at least the ones I dealt with.

2) Over the past month, I've driven a Scion XB, a Toyota Venza, a Subaru WRX (twice), a Toyota Venza, a 2009 Subaru Outback, VW Tiguan, and an Audi A3 Wagon. Driving a car doesn't always help you decide.

3) They don't really sell manual transmissions in the LA area. BOOOO.

4) Having to make pleasant conversation with the salesman can definitely distract you from figuring out whether or not you like the car, especially when you're trying to figure out how to use the tiptronic manual mode of the cars with the manual/automatic option.

5) Manual shifting without a clutch is just plain lame.

6) It is annoying when the salesman asks "nice, eh?" or "how do you like it?" every 2 minutes. Literally.

7) Dear salesmen: To sell a car in America (or at least to a young white American woman), you should probably be able to speak pretty solid English, and you should also know a little bit about the car you are selling. When I can't understand you and then I ask "What's this button for?" and you stare blankly, it makes me want to say "see ya."

8) Giving a salesman your phone number doesn't automatically mean they will be calling you all the time. I've only had 2 salesmen call me after I visited their lot. Maybe they finally realized that if we want to buy the car we'll call them...

9) There must be some sort of safety standard now that makes cars put ginormous headrests in their vehicles. In my shopping experience I have determined it will be impossible for me to drive any car I buy while wearing my hair in a ponytail. Doing so will force my chin to my chest and make it very difficult to see the road ahead of me. This either means I'll never put my windows down (not likely) or I'll have to keep a brush in my car.

10) If you can help it, don't go to a car dealership on Saturday. Your experience will take 2-3 times longer than it might on a weekday.

That is my car shopping experience in a nutshell. I wouldn't say that car shopping is "fun." It's cool to drive shiny new cars, but it is very time consuming and can be frustrating at times. But, I'm sure when I drive that new Subaru off the lot it will all be worth it. In the meantime, I'll pedal or walk my way through life anxiously awaiting Dad's arrival, at which point we will go get me a car! Yahoo!

Pictures of Honduras

2009-07-05T12:53:00.000-07:00

Here are two links to photo albums I made on Facebook. Enjoy!!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=89300&id=640663579&l=fed2de9d43

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=89306&id=640663579&l=e42bf4130d

The Almost Final Word

2009-07-03T09:11:00.000-07:00

July 2, 2009: DAY SIX

We awoke this morning (Thurs) at 4:45 am and were on our way to the airport by 5:10am. We arrived at the airport and stood in line with many other Americans also returning home from their mission trips, all of them coming home early as well. The process of checking in at the airport was slow, and we were fortunate that a group of 29 missionaries were behind us in line so they were holding the flight, otherwise, we would’ve probably missed it. In the shuffle of changing our flight, Jim and Hannah got first class tickets! Lucky bums!! ☺ The rest of us will not let them forget that we suffered back in coach while they lived it up in first class! I have a layover that is supposed to be six hours, but we have to go through customs and then back through security so it will be nice to not worry about missing my flight! I hope I can maybe get on an earlier flight, we’ll see.

I had this trip planned out in my head, which didn’t work so well because nothing went as planned. I didn’t quite know what to expect regarding going on a mission trip, but I did have some general expectations. The thought “what if something happens and I get stuck there” did cross my mind, but that is only because I’ve heard stories about mission trips that were affected some sort of significant national event. I just never thought that would be my story. It is, however, a story that I will enjoy telling, and have enjoyed telling you all on this blog. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about it as well.

I had lots of time yesterday to digest and process this trip, I just didn’t have time to write about it, but now I do! Here is what I’ve learned so far from this trip:

I was blessed on this trip with confidence, assurance, trust, and faith in God that He had us all in the palm of His hand. During the political “unrest” in Honduras, I was not afraid for my safety for a single second. Did I wonder if we should get the heck out of Honduras before things got crazy? Of course. But I never felt unsafe or in danger. That is primarily due to my faith that the Lord sent me on this trip and that I knew he didn’t send me to Honduras to die or be harmed in any way, but to share Truth and Life. I also was incredibly comforted and encouraged by my fellow AIA team members and the concern and hospitality shown to us by our new friends in Honduras.

Second, I learned not to attempt to define significance. That is God’s job. You see, I was thinking that I would go down to Honduras, lecture on Saturday, sight-see Sunday, and then lecture again Monday through Thursday. It was Friday morning, I thought, when I would feel like I had made an impression on the Honduran people. After five days, I surely would’ve had the time to make some sort of impact for the Lord. So, you can probably imagine the disappointment that tried to creep in as each day was cancelled.

I “put God in a box” as many people tend to say, meaning I impressed my reality upon God instead of allowing him to impress His reality on my heart. I learned not to define significance as I watched the attendees of our conference use skin calipers for the first time and remembered when I learned to use them for the first time. I learned not to define significance when I saw the attentive eyes staring back at me, and then Hannah, and leaning forward to grasp what we had to say when I taught them about Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation and Hannah showed them dynamic warm-up techniques, and remembered when I did PNF and functional training for the first time. I learned not to define significance as I felt the energy in the room shoot through the roof as they played with kinesiotape and learned new massage techniques, and remembered when I found myself in their same situation.

These people were so incredibly thirsty for knowledge, and although we had only been able to lecture one day, we made the most of that day. It was at the end of that day when I realized that I had tried to define significance of what we were there to do. The day before, I was frustrated and disappointed, and I think my teammates were too. But, after we finished teaching, we all were glowing because we could see we had equipped them with new techniques and knowledge that are so common to us but valuable and new to them. God didn’t need five days to use us to impact the Hondurans, he only needed one…and probably didn’t even need that much time. I think He impacted others before we even realized he was using us. Moral of this story: Let God be God. I cannot know His ways so I shouldn’t get discouraged if things don’t go according to plan. Instead, I should “flex and obey.”

I just mentioned that God may have been impacting others with my presence before I even realized it. I think many of the fruits of this trip are yet to be seen. I’m sure we will see more of God’s intention in bringing us together as the friendships that were forged between Hannah, Matt, Jules, Juan, Jim, and myself grow and mature. Had we arrived in Honduras on Friday and jumped right into lecturing on Saturday, I am certain our team would not have bonded like we did. Instead of having an abundance of time to study, share, and grow together, we may have been so wiped out from lecturing day after day that we wouldn’t have had the opportunity or energy to truly know about each other. I have built a very strong friendship with “Roomie” (Hannah, my room mate and a strength and conditioning coach at Ohio State) and I think we will be life-long friends. Spending time with the guys was awesome too, and I learned so much from all of them, too. Matt (professor at Bowling Green State) and I even had some time to talk about doing research together, which may not have happened had we been going at full throttle the whole trip. There’s something to be said about being (essentially) trapped in facility with “strangers,” at least when God is in control.

When we shared our thoughts about the entirety of the trip last night, the belief that God sent us all to Honduras together so that we would grow as friends was unanimous. I believe that the Lord put our team together, and He also knew what would transpire in Honduras while we were there, because He had and has a plan for us. I was incredibly blessed and encouraged by each person that I spent the week with, and I learned that when God says “go,” be ready to be blessed in ways other that those I am expecting. Don’t get me wrong, I expected to come home with new friends, but I didn’t expect to come home caring so much about our special group.

I learned that maybe I need to try to learn some Spanish.

I learned that nasty-looking food does not always taste nasty. In fact on this trip I didn’t taste a single food I didn’t like. Well, I didn’t “like” plantains, but I didn’t almost barf like I thought I might. ☺

I learned not to put so much faith in what I hear, see, and read in the news. The American media is wrong regarding the situation in Honduras. The now ex-President, Zelaya, printed some stuff as official information that he shouldn’t have which is a violation of the Constitution of Honduras. He also tried to force an unconstitutional vote to remove Presidential term limits (consequently allowing him to remain in power indefinitely). Fortunately, he was removed from the country and exiled before the vote could occur. It was not a military coup, it was an example of the military protecting democracy. This man is friends with Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro who both run communist nations. I did not come into contact with a single Honduran who was not in full support (and appreciation for that matter) of the government’s actions to protect the people from Zelaya’s selfish and leftist intentions. They were showing a poll on the Honduras news channels that said 95% of the people in Honduras do not want Zelaya to return to power. From what I’ve heard, all this information I’ve just explained is pretty much the opposite of what the American media is reporting, and I am stunned that Obama is encouraging and supporting a man who wants to turn the beautiful nation of Honduras into a communist nation. That just blows my mind. I’m not a very political person, so there may be some error in the information above, but the general point of all this is that American media has the capacity to be incredibly skewed, and when world events like this happen, one would be best served to find a reliable news source rather than mainstream media.

I have left Honduras with a heart for their people, their medical professionals in particular. We are so incredibly blessed in the US with the information we are given in our athletic training, physical therapy, and strength and conditioning education. We have the ability to efficiently help our athletes heal, but they only have a fraction of that knowledge. I hope to be able to help the medical professionals of Honduras in some way in the future, because they want and need the help pretty bad.

I made it home safely today. Jessica and Dorothy came to get me, and Lady came too! ☺ It’s great to be home, but I do already miss my new friends a little bit. I will be praying for the Honduran people, I hope you will too. As soon as I get the pictures up on Facebook, I’ll post a link on this blog so you can have a more real picture of all that went on. Talk to you soon, and this 4th of July, please remind yourself of how fortunate we are to live in a free and truly democratic nation.

Hello, San Pedro Sula!

2009-07-01T16:32:00.000-07:00

This morning (Wednesday), we got up, ate breakfast, and hopped in a 12 passenger van headed for San Pedro Sula. We anticipated the drive to be about 5 hours and it was 5.5 hours. We did, however, take a pretty gnarly detour, but more about that later.

Our van was from the Olympic Training Center so had the olympic rings on it. This made me wonder if we would be more respected or be more of a target. No matter, we made it to San Pedro Sula safely. There were a lot of soldiers on the road which was odd because there was no sign of danger anywhere along the way. It was interesting to see the city of Tegucigalpa since we didn't get to see much of it throughout the week. Once we left the city, it was green beautiful hills, mountains and fields for the next 4 hours or so. But, mixed in there was a detour due to road construction that took us on a dirt road for about 1 hour through some very poor areas and also some very (respectively) rich areas. We shared this detour with all travelers - semi trucks, cars, bicycles, pedestrians, and also many doggies which made for slow going. People drive C-R-A-Z-Y here! It reminded me a bit of Italy and Greece - no one stays in their lane, uses their blinker, or uses any sort of caution when passing other vehicles. I'll tell you what they do use, though...their HORNS! It's almost as if whoever hits their horn first is automatically in the right and everyone else must bow to them as they pass. Pretty interesting, and it had my team mates hitting their imaginary brake pedals the entire drive which kind of made me chuckle inside.

Anyway, once we got back on the main road, we make a quick stop at a truck-stop-ish place and got some snacks. Then, it was full speed ahead to San Pedro Sula. Some other interesting sights:

1.) little lean-to type structures on the side of the road where people sold pineapples and bananas. We stopped at one of these little places and got a fresh pineapple (that we plan on devouring tonight) and ate some of the teenie-tinyest banana's you've ever seen which were delicious!
2.) They used horses, donkeys, cows, sheep, and goats as lawnmowers. We saw so many of these animals tied up to a post or fence as they chomped away on grass in front of houses.
3.) There were "Micheletti for President" signs painted on rocks all over the mountains in the city, and all the way to San Pedro Sula. The Hondurans seem to use the rocks on the sides of their mountains as billboards, as well as the brick building walls.
4.) Some tent cities which made me feel incredibly blessed to have the things I do.

When we arrived in San Pedro Sula I was amazed at the American influence. All over, there was Pepsi, McDonalds, KFC, Church's Chicken, a Hilton hotel, and all kinds of other stuff that I recognized. Joaquin told us that San Pedro Sula was "where the money is." That was evident.

We got to our hotel/hostel and it is nice. After we unloaded, we headed to a shopping place. It was like a little flea market indoors. We shopped around there for a while and all got a few gifts for our families. I was relieved because I wanted to be able to come home with something for my family, and with all the political drama it looked like we may not be able to. After that, we went to get some lunch, and then came back to the hotel for some relaxation and quiet time. That's what we're up to now, and then we're going to dinner to debrief about the trip.

I'll have a 6 hour layover in Houston tomorrow, our flight leaves San Pedro Sula at 7am. That means we'll be early to bed!

On the Road

2009-07-01T06:33:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

We are headed to San Pedro Sula this morning. We are not sure if we'll have internet access, but I hear the Houston airport has free internet, so if you don't hear from me until Thursday, don't worry!

Mom & Dad I'll call you some time today.

An Official Change in Plans

2009-06-30T16:25:00.000-07:00

June 30, 2009: DAY FOUR

Wow, has it really been four days?! It doesn’t really feel like it. Perhaps that is because we received confirmation that we would be able to lecture today! Now it seems like we have so much to do in so little time! Good news! We woke up for breakfast and were ready to roll out to the Olympic Committee office across the complex. We arrived at 9am and we were excited! As we were just about ready to start off our day of teaching, I ran to the restroom. On my way back, I started talking to Lisette who told me that they had closed the borders of Honduras, and the President is planning to come back to Honduras on Thursday. With that, Jim said we would probably be leaving Honduras tomorrow, 2 days early. Honestly, I almost teared up. We were finally getting rolling on our lecture and now we have to leave early. With that news, I went inside to watch Matt lecture.

Matt spoke on neurophysiology and he did GREAT!! After he finished, Jim headed to the airport with Lisette to try to get us a flight home tomorrow. He was gone for the majority of the afternoon. We got a couple reports from him, all of them indicating getting home wouldn’t be simple. So, we waited. Juan presented next with the help of Hannah on body composition, and they did a great job too. We taught them how to use skin calipers and they seemed to enjoy that. Then we had a lunch break and moved back over to the hotel building. We spoke with Jim again and he said we should pack up just in case we have to leave tonight. We ate lunch and got ready for the next presentation…mine!

I presented on PNF – proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation. This is a rehabilitation technique. At the beginning, they weren’t very engaged as I was just teaching them the principles and concepts. But, as soon as I got up and started showing them the techniques on Hannah, my lovely model, they all became more engaged and started asking questions. The funniest thing was, as soon as I told them I was going to show them hamstring stretches that would be good for athletes like SOCCER PLAYERS, their ears perked up and they started really listening. They like soccer here. I had a couple people ask me to email them my ppt which was encouraging, and even had some people ask questions! My powerpoint was translated into Spanish which helped Joaquin, our translator, out quite a bit.

After I presented, Jules presented on kinesiotape, and they absolutely LOVED that! He also threw in some massage techniques, which they loved even more. Then Hannah presented on warm up and recovery which included some demonstrations. All in all I feel like we had a great day of teaching. At the end, they had a “closing ceremony,” which included Matt giving his testimony, Joaquin giving some closing words about Christ which included an opportunity for attendees to accept Christ into their heart as their Lord and Savior. I heard at least one voice repeating the prayer, maybe two, which was so encouraging, and made the entire trip worthwhile. I couldn’t understand what Joaquin was saying, but I could feel his energy and am not surprised that some attendees made a decision for Christ today. Then, Eneda spoke and concluded with a prayer for the country of Honduras. We were presented with certificates of appreciation and the day (and program) officially ended.

Many attendees came up and thanked us with a hug and kiss on the cheek. I feel like we really did something significant today. Even if our 5 days of teaching got cut down to one full day, we made an impact on the medical professionals who attended. It felt great to serve them by sharing with them new knowledge and concepts, and it was so fun to watch the light bulbs turn on as they learned. I teach every day and I rarely see the excitement in my students’ faces that I saw today. And, I feel like we let Christ's light shine on them as we are called to do.

What comes next, you might ask? Well, we are headed out of Tegucigalpa tomorrow morning and taking a 4-5 hour drive to San Pedro Sula. This is the 2nd largest town in Honduras, and apparently the place the team flew into last year. We will stay in a hotel on Wednesday night and then jump on a 7am flight to Houston on Thursday and be back in the USA. This is, of course, if all goes as planned. So far, nothing has, so we’re ready for it! As Jim keeps saying, the theme of this trip is to “flex and obey.”

I will hopefully blog more tonight after I’ve had time to digest all that happened today. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had today to share my passion, and feel that I might be just as fulfilled as I would’ve been had I lectured 5 days in a row.

We are safe, tired, and ready for some dinner! Talk to you soon!

A sign for Mom...

2009-06-30T11:51:00.000-07:00

Friends and family,

There's a lot more to say than this but I'm lecturing in 7 minutes...that's right! We got to lecture today. But, to ease your minds, they're trying to get us out of Honduras, but it's proving a little difficult. WE ARE SAFE! I'll try to write more tonight, but if we go to the airport you won't hear from me.

Mom/Dad/Amy I'll call you as soon as I know what's going on. Please don't worry! We are fine.

Out and About!!!!

2009-06-29T13:45:00.000-07:00

June 29, 2009: DAY THREE

This morning we got up and were ready for breakfast at 7, anticipating our Campus Crusade/Olympic Committee contacts would arrive at 9 with good news – that we could lecture today. Eneda, Lisette, Fernando, and Peter arrived. We were met with hugs and smiles, and it has been so encouraging how great the people we've met have treated us.

They did not have good news; they canceled the day once again. Peter is an American, he moved to Honduras when he was 5, and he had some very good information for us even though our day was cancelled. He clarified a lot of stuff for us: The situation is NOT a military take-over because a new president has been elected, there are no demonstrations going on, and that things in Honduras are absolutely normal as far as the daily happenings in the city. After telling us all this, they said they would take us to the supermarket/mall! YAHOO!! So, we all got into their two cars and went to the mall and grocery store. We got to walk around in society which was a nice change, and just as Peter said, things looked totally normal – no military, no police, no barracades. The mall was just like any other mall, complete with a TGI Fridays. We ate there for lunch, and we had some great conversation and laughs. Spirits were high as we had a nice and very welcomed change from our activities over the past 3 days.

Now is the exciting part. We got snacks at the supermarket and so did Lissette. Lissette bought milk which needed to go to her refrigerator before we went to our next location, which was some sort of tourist spot. Lisette lives literally 4 doors down from the ex-president of Honduras! So, we saw where all the drama went down at 5am Sunday morning where they grabbed the Prez in his jammies and flew him to Costa Rica. The street was pretty much deserted...again, looked like a normal neighborhood. Then we came back to the hotel to change quickly before going to the tourist spot, and again, more bad news. Peter told us some people are starting to demonstrate (only a couple hundred), so they suggested we stay put in the hotel…quarantined once again! ☹ We’ll probably be here for the remainder of the day. Getting out relieved a little of our stir-craziness, but our balloons lost some air when we were told we’d be here for the rest of the day.

We were told by Peter, though, that IF things escalate, and he was very confident that things will not, we will either be transported to the airport (in a non-emergent situation) or to an American military base in a nearby city and we will immediately be flown back to the United States (in an emergent situation). Again, it is suspected that things will calm down and Honduras will continue as normal. But, if things do escalate, they have a plan for us which was a bit of a relief. We also have at least 6 people who are very concerned for our safety and will do whatever is necessary to keep us safe.

Please do not believe everything you hear on the news. From what we’ve seen and heard, they are exaggerating the situation, but that shouldn’t surprise any of you who are used to American news.

We got some playing cards, so we’ll keep busy with that for a while, and I’m sure we’ll have some more Bible study, quiet time, and workout time. I am grateful that God blessed us with some time outside the OTC grounds today, it really lifted our spirits.

I’ll try to check back in tonight.

Love you all!

A Change in Plans

2009-06-28T12:04:00.000-07:00

We heard news yesterday of some political demonstrations that might occur today as the president of Honduras is trying to do some shady things. Consequently, yesterday and today we have been told to stay in the OTC which is safe and secure, and Hondurans are being told to stay home and off the streets. Yesterday we didn't really hear any news. Today, however, we have received some news from our local contacts and broken translation by our friends of the news. The President has been arrested and deported by the government, and apparently he wants to illegally extent his term of office.

We woke up this morning to no electricity, but plenty of sunshine so we didn't really mind. We got word that the government cut power to the city to keep everyone from causing trouble and getting all worked up from watching the news and stuff. Interesting tactics! We also woke up to pancakes! YUM!

Apparently news has reached US about what's happening, but I want to assure everyone that we are safe. I'm not blogging about the events here to alarm you, but because we haven't really been able to do anything so I have nothing else to blog about!

We have AIA staff in the states, AIA staff here in Honduras, and also the embassy to keep us informed and make sure we know what's going on. I'm not sure what the next step is going to be, but I'm sure we'll be fine. We are supposed to lecture tomorrow through Thursday, but we aren't sure if that will happen. If it does happen, the medical professionals will be coming here to this facility for our lecture instead of us going to the local university.

I am also sure that there is a purpose for us being "stuck" here at the OTC. As I mentioned yesterday, we have had some great team bonding time. Today after breakfast, we had a discussion about humility, and then all took an hour to have some quiet time with God on our own. My quiet time was great. I have found myself a bit distracted yesterday by the potential of the situation, and a bit discouraged that we've been confined to the facility. But I asked myself "what would Jesus do?" I came up with the following:

1. Encourage those around me and try to build up relationships with them, especially Eneda, Kessel, and Marco - the only others here who can really speak English.
2. Get to know the team better. We had some great time out on the track doing some agility work and other exercise.
3. Take this time to really dive into a deeper relationship with the Lord by prayer and reading my Bible.
4. Smile and know that God is in control.

In addition to this, I am going to go work on my talks for the week, because if all goes as planned I'm lecturing about evaluating the lower extremity tomorrow. I'll try to hop onto the blog again tonight for an update, but there is potential for them to shut off power again if things escalate so if you don't hear from me don't worry. Just pray for us, and be confident, as we are, that God is right here with us and has a purpose for our time here in Honduras. We do have a cell phone and I will be calling my parents when I can to update them. Again, please don't worry. We are totally and completely safe here.

Thanks for your prayers, talk to you again soon!

Hanging in the OTC

2009-06-27T20:00:00.001-07:00

JUNE 27, 2009: DAY TWO

This morning I got up with Hannah and Juan as planned. We ran on the track for 20’ and then did stairs for a bit. It was great to get up and get moving. Then it was breakfast – eggs, bologna, beans, some funky cheese stuff, and some goop we assumed to be mayonnaise. Then we had some devotional time and talked about putting Jesus at the center of our lives. We talked about when we fail at honoring Him, when we succeed at honoring Him, and then looked over some scripture addressing these same issues. It was great time to bond as a team.

We have been hanging out at the OTC all day. We probably saw every inch of the grounds, took lots of pictures, and tried to make some friends. The language barrier is proving to be a challenge to cross. But, there are a couple individuals who speak Spanish and English so we’re hangin’ out with them. We had dinner, which was yummy, and then had some more team time. Tonight we discussed the Holy Spirit and learned a little more about each other. After spending nearly two days with my team members I can say that these are all wonderful people. I am really enjoying my time here so far, but I am ready to go out and do some sight seeing tomorrow. Our lecturing will begin Monday and continue until Thursday evening.

I miss you all!!!

Day One

2009-06-26T20:05:00.000-07:00

June 26, 2009: DAY ONE

My alarm went off at 4am this morning and I was ready to get up perhaps because I spent most of the night not sleeping. As I headed to the airport with Amanda and Lady, I found myself pretty nervous for this adventure. I kissed Lady goodbye, waved to Amanda and next thing I know I’m on the airplane. I’m in the wrong seat. I move…to the wrong seat. Luckily these passengers are in decent moods and we laugh about it. The flight from Ontario to Houston was uneventful other than that.

Somewhere around 11:20am CST I land in Houston. I made my way to my new gate and up with Jim Rumelhart (our trip leader) and Hannah from Ohio State. She’s a strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS). Then Matt showed up (also an athletic trainer), and after him came Julius and Juan, both athletic trainers. The team had officially assembled and I became a little less nervous and a little more excited. We made small talk with each other and others around us.

We arrived in Honduras safely and were greeted by our hosts who were very nice! We got into a van and headed to the Olympic Training Center. The athletic facilities are impressive when compared to the surrounding area. We met two local doctors, one of whom is the head doctor for the Honduras Olympic teams. We also met a physical therapist, a local university’s PE teacher, and several of the coaches at the facility. We were touring the facility and a news reporter was just walking around looking for a story. Well, he saw 6 Americans and figured there must be a story to tell! So, we are going to be on Chanel 10 news…or maybe we already were. I don’t know. What I do know is that I had the worst possible position to be standing – in between Jim and the translator. So, I probably looked like an idiot staring back and forth between the two of them. Oh well. I’m famous in Honduras now. ☺

We ate dinner around 7. I tried plantains against my better judgment and surprise, it tasted like banana. I wasn’t a fan. The chicken, rice, beans, and potatoes were delicious! I also drank some punch type juice that was most likely using local water so let’s hope I’m not curled up in my bed all day tomorrow.

Team update just finished, now it’s time for bed. Getting up early to work out with Hannah and Juan, and we’ll see what tomorrow brings!

God bless, and goodnight!

Preparation of the Suitcase

2009-06-25T18:25:00.000-07:00

A brand new suitcase. An orange one. Patagonia. I love it...I love it but it's absolutely ginormous. I'm fighting the urge to just fill it up with stuff, but the info I got from AIA said "PACK LIGHT" about 4 times. So, I will cinch down the straps and resist the urge to fill it to the top. Today I woke up at 8am and wanted to sleep until 9:00 but said to myself "at the end of the day you're going to want more hours so you'd better get out of bed." So, I did. I was wondering if I would have time to whip up a quick blog and here I am!

So anyway, I got up and did my usual stuff. Then I had to go to work at 10 to advise one of my students. Then, I came home and anxiously awaited the arrival of my new Patagonia suticase duffel. It came. After putting Lady in it so she could sniff it out, I began stocking it with the piles I had made. Clothes. Shoes. Bathroom stuff. Then I began to make piles to go in my carry-on backpack. Books. Journal. Bible. Camera. iPod. Money, ID and Passport. Phone numbers. Some undies and socks in case my suitcase gets lost. Notepad. Sunglasses. Computer. Well, it's not in the bag yet obviously. Checked email throughout the morning trying to get stuff taken care of before I leave. I mostly failed miserably.

Then it was time for some exercise. I squeezed in a 13 miler. When I got home and turned my phone back on, I had an email from my mom saying "Farah Fawcett died today, and Michael Jackson is in the hospital," another from Amy saying "TMZ (the most reliable of sources) said MJ already died," and a text from Amanda that said "Hey! Did you hear Michael Jackson died?" I was shocked. I had just finished rocking out to MJ on my ride - as you might imagine there are an abundance of MJ tunes on my workout mix. I even rode up next to a guy who was blasting "Billie Jean" and I sang along. I can't believe that MJ is gone, and Farah Fawcett too. What a sad day for American entertainment, even a sad day for Americans. MJ rocks, and I'll still be dancing to him when I'm 80 years old.

After I recovered from the initial sadness, I began sorting through stuff to make sure I took care of everything that is urgent. Email. Bills. Young Professionals Committee stuff. Now, it's time to finish packing up, read and journal to try to prepare my heart for this trip as well as I can, and get to bed. My flight leaves at 6am. My alarm will go off at 4:15. Ick. But, it will be worth it, I'm sure.

Here I go!!!

Preparation of the Heart

2009-06-24T16:33:00.000-07:00

I am off to Honduras in less than 48 hours. My flight leaves the Ontario, CA airport at 6am on Friday. I am hoping to keep family and friends updated on my trip via this blog. I think it will be easier to access than my email. I've decided to post a thread about how I came to be 48 hours away from traveling to Honduras.

It all started with my first interaction with Athletes in Action back in college. I became a Christian at the age of 20 and began attending a Bible study that one of my volleyball athletes invited me to. It was through Athletes in Action, a Christian organization that ministers to college athletes. Some friends and I started our own little group and called it "Athletic Trainers in Action." We used this group as a way to apply Biblical concepts to our lives as certified athletic trainers. Then I moved to Oregon and a couple fellow grad students and I continued the idea of Athletic Trainers in Action up there. Fast forward to September 20, 2008. I was invited to a training session for individuals interested in leading a mission trip with Athletes in Action. Now keep in mind, I had just returned from my first international trip (Italy and Greece) and had firmly convinced myself that international travel was not really for me (or so I thought). I went to the meeting...reluctantly. But, something in my gut compelled me to attend and I couldn't come up with any excuses, so I went. I left the meeting a little overwhelmed by an even stronger voice in my heart that was whispering "you're going." The best thing was that I knew this little voice was God, and I knew I could trust it. I've heard it before. The idea of traveling on a mission trip grew on me. Those of you who really know me know that I have three primary passions in life - God, family, and the profession of athletic training. This trip was going to allow me to combine 2 of these passions. According to AIA, "AIA Sports Performance exists to change lives by building a spiritual movement through the platforms of sports medicine and strength & conditioning (Romans 10:14-15). AIA Sports Performance will share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with sports performance professionals; equip those who are, or become Christians how to share their faith and provide these professionals with missionary experiences in their field of expertise." Said much more elegantly than I could say it.

So, AIA contacted me about the Honduras trip, June 26-July3. I began to prepare...filling out paperwork, reading all the information that I received in the mail, and the hardest part for me...thinking about fundraising. While reading through this paperwork, I learned I would need to raise $2,500. Yikes. That's a lot of money. I started thinking about how much I have in savings "just in case," but then I changed my way of thinking. The Bible says that we should not test God - when Jesus was sent out into the desert to be tempted, we learned that it is not right to say "Ok, if you're really God, then do 'this.'" But, we can ask God to show us his faithfulness while praying diligently with full belief that God will answer our prayers if what we are asking is in line with His will. Well, I strongly believe that my traveling on this trip is God's will for my life because of the feeling in my heart and the whisper that said "go." So, I prayed something like "God, I really want to see your power demonstrated in my fundraising. I know you can raise all the money I need by tugging on the hearts of my friends and family to give. I pray that you would help me raise all the money I need by donations. Every cent. I can dip into my savings and pay what is left over, but I don't want to. I want to watch you work, Father. Please encourage me by helping me raise all the money I need." Notice, I did not pray "Okay God, if you're out there, raise me $2,500," or "Dear God, if you really want me to go on this trip, raise me $2,500 or I'm not going."

Well, God was faithful. I didn't only raise $2,500, but I raised $2,885. Wowza! How fortunate I am to perhaps get to help another team member who did not raise enough, maybe was $385 short? So, that was a blessing beyond what I expected, and a great confirmation that this trip is what I should be doing. That's all for now. As I pack tomorrow and really get ready, I'll write again. After that, who knows!!

Texas Times

2009-05-07T22:36:00.000-07:00

While clearing space on my camera for the many pictures I will take as I embark on a trip to San Antonio for the National Athletic Trainers' Association Annual Meeting and Clinical Symposia, I found pictures of the trip my softball team took to Marshall, Texas for NCAA Division III West Region Playoffs. Our conference tournament was the first weekend of May. We didn't win, but we got an at-large bid to regionals because we had an awesome season. I haven't blogged for a LONG time because I haven't had time, so I thought I'd celebrate the official slowing down of this tornado that has been my life (as softball season has ended) with a blog post about my experiences in Longview and Marshall, Texas.

1. I love the girls on my team. I mean, there is not one girl on the La Verne softball team that I don't really enjoy being around. There are one or two that sometimes I want to shake them and see if I hear anything marbles banging around, but other than that, I love these girls. It has been a joy to watch them play as a REAL team as they did most of the season. They make me laugh, I make them laugh. It's an awesome environment that I'm blessed to be a part of.

2. Technology is a pain in the ass sometimes. Every single time we met for a meal, I would find at least 3 players doing this simultaneously...

Sometimes I wish I could go back to the days before cell phones and email. I have a blackberry now and it came in handy this weekend while I had very limited actual internet access. But, it went off like every 4 minutes telling me I had a new email. Sometimes I want to go to a deserted island where there is no technology and hang out for a while.

3. Grahm's Central Station? Yes please. This country bar is in Longview, Texas which is where we stayed. Besides the cigarette smoke it was pretty sweet. I have always been told, especially by my ex who lives in Texas (not all of my ex's live in Texas, by the way) that "they don't line dance in Texas." Well, they did! And they do! The Texans DEFINITELY indulged in a simplified version of Slappin' Leather at this bar. I kind of wish they hadn't done it...part of me thought they were cooler for not line dancing. But, I line dance so what does that make me? Whatever.

4. At Grahm's, I also did the two-step with a guy named Bud. Classic. Except, this guy was balding, a had a beer belly, had his shirt unbuttoned about 2 buttons too many, and was a bit Chester-Molesterish for my taste. He pretended like he didn't know how to dance and then began to throw me around the dance floor like a rag doll. So much so that one of his nasty fingernails took a chunk of skin out of the side of my finger while he was spinning me. Gross. Definitely utilized the alcohol swabs in my med kit when I got back to the hotel. But, to say that I went to Texas and two-stepped with a guy named Bud was pretty sweet. Too bad he wasn't tall, dark, handsome, and young.

5. I went to grab some beer with the coaches and our AD and realized what my non-athletic trainer friends feel when they hang out with me and other athletic trainers. The conversation is interesting and content-rich, but I felt like an outsider for the most part. It was very enlightening to sit with coaches after losing a game that we should've won and listening to them talk about the game.

4. We stopped at Sonic for dinner after the game one night. It was delicious. I heart Sonic.

Texas is sort of my home away from home, and I'm not gonna lie, I kind of like it there. :)

2009-01-04T21:11:00.001-08:00

One thing I have spent a lot of time thinking about in the last six days is 2009. Dang. I can't believe it is already "next year." When thinking about how 2008 went and my hopes for 2009, I get kind of excited. Besides a trip to Europe followed by a midwest extravaganza, the move from Rancho to LV that almost caused me to go insane, and my first "real" job, 2008 was pretty mello in general. I wonder what 2009 will hold...

I am the type of person who always wants to do better. I'm a perfectionist of sorts, mainly because I don't want to disappoint people. My desire to avoid disappointing others is not based on what these others think of me, it's more based on my impression that if I disappointed someone, I didn't do my best. In 2009, I want to do my best, specifically in my relationship with God. I know if I try to do my best here, I'll do the best elsewhere in life.

A funny thing happened to me on New Year's Eve. I was killing time in San Diego waiting to head up to the desert for a New Year's Eve party. I had spent an hours time on the beach reading my latest book, "Blue Like Jazz." I then decided to go walk through the boardwalk area. I bought some ice cream (who doesn't love ice cream at the beach?) and had a seat at a table in the sun, planning to read some more. A couple girls came up to me and asked me about the book, one girl, Holly, had just finished the book and wondered if I liked it. They asked if they could sit down and chat with me for a bit. I said "sure!" and next thing I know they're telling me about this project they're doing and asking me if I'd like to participate. I agreed, excited for something unexpected to pass the time...I had an hour to kill, it was 1pm and I was thinking of leaving the beach at 2pm.

So they began. They had 50 pictures and asked me five questions. I was to pick pictures that most closely described or represented my answer to the question. The questions were something like this:
1. Pick 3 pictures that represent your life right now.
2. Pick 3 pictures that represent what's missing from your life right now.
3. Choose one picture that represents your idea of God.
4. Choose one picture that represents your spiritual journey up to this point
5. Choose one picture that demonstrates what's missing from your relationship with God.

I was very excited about this project, because come on, it was New Year's Eve! What better way to spend it than taking a spiritual inventory of my life? The question I want to focus on is #3 because I've been thinking about my answer quite a bit since that day. The picture I chose was of the little things on the edge of the dock that people tie their boats to.
Out of all the pictures, all 50, here's why I chose this one:

- God is solid, permanent, everlasting. If I tie myself to God, I will never be truly lost or truly unsecure
- In times of trouble, I can hold tight to God and I'll make it through the storm

Now, there are a million things that God is that are not described by this picture. But, this is the picture I chose. I do feel like God is always with me. Even when I push Him away or leave Him sitting on the curb all by Himself because I think I can do everything by myself, He is with me in my heart. God is dependable, and I can go to him with any and everything. He is truly my rock, my refuge, my stronghold (Psalm 18:2). Perhaps I chose this picture because I am currently struggling with a few things in life, and knowing that God is someone I can always depend on really helps me snap my head back on straight and realize I am blessed! When I'm wavering, when I'm uncertain, when I feel incomplete or lost, I can always pull out a paper and pen and start dialoguing with God and He always helps me find my way. When I get in my little boat and paddle away from God, I know He's there, waiting for me to tie myself up to Him so that He can be my rock and bless me with riches I never imagined.

Then the two girls prayed for me, we said our goodbyes and they left. I glanced at my watch - 2:00 on the dot. How's that for a God-incidence (as opposed to a coincidence)!! :)

What a great way to finish a year and start another one...knowing that God reigns, that Jesus is my Saviour, that the Holy Spirit lives in me, and that I am never truly lost or alone.

What is God to you?

Holiday fun

2008-12-10T13:25:00.000-08:00

I know it's a little late, but I want to talk about my Thanksgiving. I went up to SLO to hang with my fam and it was probably one of the better holidays I've had in the last couple years. I'm not sure why, but it was. I hung out with Amy a lot which was awesome, and I got to go to the beach. We also hiked Madonna Mountain with Charlie. He's a stud. He kept looking back like "are you COMING!?!?!"
Ever since I was little, holidays have been my immediate family, my aunt and her family, my brother and his family, my older sister Tiffany and her family or any combination of these groups. I love my family. This year, we had a lot of fun with the photo booth application on my new mac computer.

We also had the normal "get in line and fill up your plate" proceedings. This year, my dad asked me to say grace which was surprising, but cool at the same time. I tried hard not to mess it up...as if one can mess up a prayer. I pray for my family all the time, and it's great when I can see growth toward Him in those I love. After eating, we continued the tradition we started last year - the "like father, like daughter post-meal belly" picture. For some reason, after my dad, sister, or I eat our bellies get pretty dang big as you can see.

I came back to LA on Sunday morning and had Charlie Rose in tow. This week he's been my little cuddle buddy and we've had a lot of fun. When he first got there, Lady was not too pleased. She cross the threshold of Amanda's doorway unless Charlie was a good 10 feet away. But, before I knew it, she was learning new tricks from Charlie, such as drinking out of a big dog water bowl. She uses the little bottle thing that bunnies use, so she apparently wasn't too graceful at it yet since she soaked her whole face. Charlie's growing on her, I can tell. When they look at each other, I swear that in dog-language Charlie's saying "chill out, toots" and she's saying "what a large disgusting creature you are! But you're scary. I'll give you that."

A couple cute Charlie-isms:

When you leave him in the car alone he hops into the passenger seat and patiently awaits your return.

He's funny. Right after I told him to get down off the couch, he proceeded to come over and show me who is boss.

I love the holidays!!

I love my dad!

2008-11-21T10:14:00.000-08:00

I am woman, hear me roar! I am feeling particularly victorious as of late, still feeling the effects of my successful oil change. That's right. I changed the oil in my car all by myself. Well...not completely by myself. I called my dad once. Okay twice. Okay, okay! Five times. Here's how it went.

Phone call 1: Me: "Hi Dad. I can't figure out how to bend this "safety tab" on the jack stand. It sounds important. Am I just supposed to bang it with a screwdriver or something?"
Dad: tells me how to use the jack stand.

Phone call 2: Me: "Hi again. Where do I put the jack stand? I don't see a part that looks like where you described."
Dad: gets frustrated trying to explain but finally speaks my language and I see what he's talking about.
Me: confident. I won't need to call him again, I've got it under control now.

Phone call 3: Me: "Why is the jack only jacking up one side of the car"
Dad: explains that I have to jack it up, put the jack stand under there, take the jack out and go jack up the other side. Duh.
Me: No longer feeling confident.

I get the car up on jack stands. My confidence returns.
I unscrew the screw, and drain the oil from the tank. I unscrew the filter and try not to get oil all over my arm. I fail.
I clean the little screw and put it back in only after dumping a little clean oil through to catch some of the dirt and grime left in the bottom of the tank**
I open the new oil filter and dip the end of it into the old oil to lube it up**
I screw the new filter on.
I stop and think. "Did I miss anything?" No.

I pour in the first quart of oil. I remember I'm supposed to start the car up after putting that quart in to make sure the oil light goes off**
I approach the car door and think "hmm, I don't remember the car being on jacks when we do this. These jack stands are 2-ton jack stands...will my 135 extra pounds cause my car to go crashing to the ground if I get in? Probably best to skip this step...it's probably not important anyway.

I pour in the second quart of oil. Then I remember. "you dumbass. You're done underneath the car, take it down off jacks and start it up!" I proceed to do so. The oil light comes on, goes off, and I'm, once again, feeling like a very capable woman.

I pour in the fourth quart of oil. I look under the car. A tiny leak. I weasle my way under the car...nothing suspicious. Maybe leftovers from when I took the filter out.

I clean up. I dump the oil from the pan into a big jug to take to Kragen. I see pieces of metal in the bottom of the oil pan. Lots of them. A couple big ones. This is bad**.

Phone call number 4
Basically, it ends with me and my dad both think to ourselves "crap. time for Kim to seriously save for a new car."

I call my dad.
Phone call number 5:
Me: "SOMETHING HORRIBLE HAS HAPPENED!"
Dad: "what?"
Me: "JUST KIDDING! I did it!!!!!"
Dad: "Allright!!!"

I am still patting myself on the back for this. Maybe next time I'll only have to call him once! BTW, the things with ** after them means these are things my superhero daddy taught me. I love my dad for not letting me be a priss. I can jack up a car, change my own flat tire, change my own oil, use tools, and do all kinds of special things! My dad rocks! Of course, this is just the beginning of why I love him...

The nine-letter word...

2008-11-20T19:33:00.000-08:00

At our young adults group at church the other night, the pastor and his wife talked about the big 9-letter word…SUBMISSION. It was a very interesting discussion, probably the most interesting lesson I’ve heard on this topic. Ephesians 5:22 says “wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.” Most 21st century woman’s response to this concept is “EXCUUUUUUUUSE ME!?” accompanied by a extra-large z-snap. We are taught that women can be anything we want to be…especially if it means we want to boss a man around. Here are a couple points that really struck me.
1. As a Christian, it is my responsibility (and honor) to seek God’s will for my life and submit to the Lord so that I can serve Him and love Him the best I can. I do submit to God. If God says move, I move – sometimes it is with incredible reluctance, but eventually, I move. I submit to God because I revere him, I respect Him, and I love Him. Submission to God does not indicate weakness or defeat. Submission = respect, and respect = love. So it should be with my future husband according to Ephesians 5:22. “Submission” has gotten a bad rap. It has become a word that indicates weakness. Fear. If someone submits, they’re almost seen as pathetic. In reality, submission (submission as God means it) means that you love someone enough to allow them to lead, that you respect them and that you trust them. I want whoever my husband ends up being to know that I love him, trust him, and respect him. One way to do that is to submit to him and trust him to lead.
2. A man cannot lead a woman who refuses to follow. I think most women, I can at least speak for myself, want a man who will be a leader. The problem is that I also like to lead. I don’t want a man I can walk all over. I want someone I can depend on and who I can respect. If I am so busy taking over the world (and my relationship), the man cannot be a leader. I am effectively preventing him from leading by taking control. Of course, I am not going to roll over and do whatever he says (especially if it is contrary to God’s will), but I am going to allow him to lead. Chances are if a man isn’t a good leader, I’m not going to be attracted to him in the first place, or when I realize he is not a good leader I'll be on my way. For me, the man must be a good leader. Consequently, it will be a joy to let the man lead because it will grow my respect for him.
3. On a related note, Proverbs 21:21 says “better to live on the corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.” I don’t know a man or a woman who would say this is not an accurate statement. I’m a woman and I don’t even like sharing a house with a quarrelsome woman. Nobody likes a nag. As our pastor said, “nagging a man is like Kryptonite to superman…it WILL kill him.”
4. Submission is a gift. The book “Captiating” by John and Stasi Eldridge talks about how a man’s sense of worth is found in whether or not he feels respected. I think this is pretty evident – if a man is disrespected, he either fights, withdraws, or has some other sort of negative reaction. To a man, for a woman to demonstrate respect enough that he can lead, that is an incredible gift for him, and a gift that I expect pays back with interest.
5. 1 Peter 3:1-2 says “Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.” Wow. Now that’s a gift…and a challenge! I love a good challenge! Our pastor’s wife said “let what you do speak so loudly that I can’t hear what you’re saying.”

Actions really do speak louder than words, and I know the man that God brings me will be worthy of my submission, and hope that my act of submitting with love and respect will speak louder than anything I might say and give that man the confidence to be the best person he can be.

Not sure what to call this one...

2008-11-06T11:34:00.000-08:00

Well, we have elected a new President of the United States. Some people are relieved, some are angry, some are ecstatic and some have a sort of doomsday attitude. The most stunning thing to me about Obama's victory is how it got people to the polls. My mom is 59 years old and she voted for the first time in her life. I am so proud of her for getting out there and making her voice heard. I received an email the day before the election calling Christians to pray that God would stop Obama from being President. After really thinking about the email, I had a couple thoughts.

I don't know if any of you saw the interviews Rick Warren did with both presidential candidates but they were very interesting. I realize when in the spotlight being interviewed by a best-selling Christian author and pastor of a
very large church, one might be inclined to answer questions a certain way. That said...

During these interviews, both McCain and Obama professed to be Christians. Both men stood up on national television and say they believe in the Lord God and that Jesus is their Saviour. Just like the every day "Joe" that both candidates kept speaking about, if this Joe tells me he's a Christian, it is not my place to judge whether he really is or not. Joe will be accountable to God for his actions, not me. The same goes for Obama and McCain. So, I was a bit relieved knowing that these two men, Christian men, will hopefully be praying daily and seeking God's will, whether they're President or not.

This is a difficult time in our nation. Because of this, we must pray believing that God has the power to do what we ask if we ask it with a pure heart. God gave us free will. The tricky part is that this entire nation has free will, and we can all vote however we want.

I think Christians need to re-kindle our dependence and confidence in prayer. I'll go one step further to say we need to re-kindle our dependence and confidence in God. This includes me, by the way.

No matter if, in your eyes, the right or wrong man was elected, God will use all things for His glory. It is also important for us as Christians not to be harsh with our comments regarding this election. Intelligent and passionate discussion, however, is VERY important. The Bible says let he who is without sin cast the first stone. I was just as guilty as the next person for jumping to conclusions about Obama, but as this campaign has progressed, I've realized that I should vote my heart and leave the rest up to God. He can handle it. The best thing I can do now is put my faith in Obama which includes praying for him. Who was it that said a nation that is divided cannot stand?

We should pray for our newly-elected President because he has a big job ahead of him. Also, let us pray for Senator McCain, as he is probably heartbroken. No matter who is President, Christians should pray for this nation, our leader, and our fellow Americans.

Click or Tap?

2008-10-23T22:32:00.000-07:00

I just got a new computer and a new iPod. No, they did not give me a deal because the economy stinks which bummed me out. I was even really sweet about it and laughed at the saleslady's joke. Oh well. BUT, I did get an iPod on clearance online since they just came out with more new ones. It's older, but it's more than I need. Score!

While riding my bike with a friend today talking about my new purchases, we discussed the iPod touch v. iPod classic (with the disk wheel selector thingee). I came to an interesting realization about myself. You see, not for one second did I consider buying a touch. Perhaps it was because they were way more expensive, perhaps because it's the "in" thing and I tend to not follow fads on principle. The reality is that I probably bypassed the touch because of the former, not the latter. I have student loans to pay off, people!

I realized today there is a third reason I passed on the iPod touch and I think it's pretty significant. You see, I am the type of person who likes to see results. There is something anti-climactic for me about tapping on a screen. I like buttons - especially the iPod buttons because they feel cool when you click them and because they make a little noise in the earphones. Is that weird that I like that? I like the click noise...when I hit a button, I want to know that I hit the button. When I tap the screen, or my touchpad on my computer for that matter, I am never sure if my tap was registered. Tap = me thinking "did it work? Should I tap again" Buttons = instant gratification.

Are you a tapper or a clicker? I'm interested to see if I'm alone in this...

Bougainvillea Bonanza

2008-10-19T15:29:00.000-07:00

Okay, so, I've been working on removing this "tree" from my back yard for about 2 months now. It's been slow going because the only place I have to put the branches and stuff is in our green waste trash can. So, I've filled it up about 6 or 7 times I think, and when I chopped off the last big branch last weekend I immediately wished I had photo-documented starting on week one. But alas, I just started last weekend. Now, this thing was huge. When I told my mom via email that part of my plan for the weekend was to "take out a tree in my backyard" she immediately freaked out and shot me back an email saying "DON'T YOU DARE TRY TO TAKE OUT A TREE! HOW MANY REASONS DO YOU NEED!?" I rolled my eyes and responded telling her it's not literally a tree, it is more of a ginormous bush (that one's for you, Allison) and is actually called a plant. I found that out when I googled it. It's called a Bougainvillea plant and before I started working on it it was 2-3 times my height.

I've lived in an apartment for the last 5 years so I don't really have any tree removal tools. My dad gave me a thing that I found out since is called a hedge trimmer. It plugs in and kind of reminds me of a chainsaw, so I figured I'd give it a whirl. I ranged from gently trimming the leaves off to swinging the thing like a baseball bat to get through the thicker branches. And this thing has some crazy-scary thorns which proceeded to scrape the crap out of my arms and legs.

But, it was fun to tell my room mate that her Shitzu (sp?) attacked me when she asked what happened. When my other room mate saw me swinging the hedge trimmer at the monster she asked "Do you think that is the most effective method?" I figured I looked like a pretty big moron. Oh well, I'm still alive!

The next weekend, we received a 3-step ladder and two saw type tools from her parents. I'm not gonna lie, I was excited. So excited, in fact, that I decided to just murder the tree that day and figure out what to do with the branches later. This was my tool of choice:

There was a split-second of doubt when I wondered if I would end up chopping off my own leg with this scary looking saw-type tool but I pressed on. And of course, I wore my safety glasses.

Safety first, people. And here's what's left:

So, during the week I bought a shovel and my next task will be to dig that mo fo out of the ground. The funny thing is, I can't remember why I wanted to get rid of it so badly in the first place. But I guess that's just how I work - if I start something, I finish it. I'll be glad when it's gone. We're talking about putting an orange tree back there...that will be much more fun!

Just Kidding

2008-10-09T19:53:00.000-07:00

Hope you all enjoy this as much as I did. Just kidding.

Beautiful Lady!

2008-10-09T19:23:00.000-07:00

So, little Lady (Amanda's Doggie) got a bath today and looks ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE, so I had to showcase her on my Blog.
She sat by my window for hours this afternoon watching the happenings outside. I wonder sometimes if she's part kitty. I've decided these pillows can be "her spot." She is so cute!! :)

The cool twin has arrived

2008-10-05T16:06:00.000-07:00

Hello all! I'm Kim's cooler, smarter, prettier and more talented twin sister Amy. I came down to visit for the weekend and decided that I would guest-blog in place of her today. Hopefully I do her proud.
So the highlight and worst part of the entire weekend was the Oregon game last night. This is us when we were winning:

First half was super fun and amazing, second half was embarrassing and depressing. We know she's the true duck fan because though we were losing 37-10 she still wanted to stay put on the hard wooden bench and wait out a possible flash of talent from the ducks. Alas, it did not come and I finally dragged her out of there with 3 mins on the clock (after enduring sympathy stares from all the USC fans on the way out). We walked about 7 blocks in the Ghetto back to the car, and arrived safely. I wonder if any of the potential robbers or rapists lingering in the dark were deterred by the mase I was clutching tightly in my right hand. It was armed and ready, and I even did a test spray just so i knew the capacity of my defenses. This was the first time I had tested it, and I sprayed it as far away from me as possible after Kim explained that she first tested hers in the bathroom sink. Yeah that'll jump right back up and bite 'cha. Thanks mom for putting the mase in our stockings last Christmas.
We got back to LaVerne and consoled ourselves with Jolly Jogurt. Then we watched Semi-Pro. Well, Kim watched it while her roomie Amanda, Charlie, Lady and I all passed out. Kim knows i can't make it through a movie unless it is started before 7pm, yet she was still bitter and pissy when she woke me up to go to bed. It's like she thinks i fall asleep on purpose! "Time for bed!" she snaps when she puts the remote back on the coffee table. I won't lie it amuses me a little now, when i used to feel bad for falling asleep.

Today was church and then a shopping spree. Grandma decided she has some money that needed to be put to use, so Kimmy and i headed to Ontario Mills for a guilt-free spending spree. Kim blew all of hers at one store on work clothes. I was very proud of her actually, she picked out some good stuff. I was like the mom sitting in the dressing room hanger-ing and un-hangering, un-folding and folding after she tried the stuff on. It was a great fun. Then it was time to cough up the dough. There was a new girl behind the counter, and Kim and I were very patient with her. The boss-lady was walking her through checkout step by step and you could tell she was a bit nervous. Kim opened an Ann Taylor credit card to save an extra $60, so we were there for a bit longer than the normal custy. The boss-lady walked away once the hard part was over, and the girl just shoved all the clothes into the bag! Without folding them, as in get the hell out of my store you've been here for too long! She was still pleasant and smiley, without a glimmer of guilt in her eyes. Now normally i sometimes think to myself "OK ok come on, you dont really have to fold them i'm just going to hang them when i get home in 30 minutes." But now that I have experienced the disappointment of not having my clothes folded nicely in the bag, I will always be patient and grateful for that extra customer service. I carefully pulled them out of the bag back at Kim's and this is how they looked.

They weren't even my clothes, and I'm pretty sad about it. Good thing she's already hung them in her color-coordinated closet and the wrinkles are on their way to falling out. We've been home for about 30 minutes.

Oh and another thing she did in a hurry -

If i knew any better i'd think she was trying to hurry me and my dog out of here! Either that or she thinks we're very dirty and she couldn't stand to sleep another night on the same bed sheets as we did. that's right, the 3 of us shared her full-size bed last night. she was spooning my dog and I had a paw pushing my pillow and head as far away from them as possible. Good thing i know he loves me more. sorry sis.

OK well i guess that's all i have to say before i hit the road back to SLO.

Oh...no...they...didn't

2008-09-26T16:18:00.000-07:00

Exsqueeze me? The Oregon State Beavers beat the USC Trojans? I'm sorely disappointed. But, that's not what this blog is about.

I'd like to ask who the heck Oregon State thinks they are with their lame-o rip off version of the "Ohhhhhhhh!!!" cheer that, unless I'm in Lala land (with Allison), originated at University of Oregon. During the game, the Beaver fans could be spotted holding their arms above their heads clasping their hands together attempting to form an "O" as if they were the "A" in "YMCA" Most people formed more of an oval, or what I like to see as a zero. All the while, they were shouting "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!" Last time I checked that was Oregon's cheer, and we use a much more civilized "O" by making "C's" with both hands and putting them together to make an "O."

*sigh*

Well hopefully Oregon crushes Oregon State this year and shows them who's boss.

Here's to you, Mom

2008-09-19T19:49:00.000-07:00

My mom has been bugging me to change my blog picture. She said, and I'm not kidding, "You don't even look like a girl!" So, here you go, Mom. Hope this is more to your liking.

BTW, this is me at a 70's birthday party for a friend. I don't make a habit of traipsing around in a neon blue miniskirt and psychadellic top.

This weekend's top 5...

2008-09-14T21:12:00.000-07:00

NUMBER FIVE: We started a "rookie sho'" in our athletic training program where each year, the newbies have to do a show their talents via a skit or some sort of performance. This year was the first year so everyone did it. I have to say, my group took the cake with an impressive rendition of "Proud Mary." Yes, I was Tina. And it far surpassed my "Regulators" performance a few weeks back. Anyhow, one student tracked down (thanks a lot, AMANDA!) a video on Youtube of me being Mary Katherine Gallagher (SUPERSTAHHHHH!) and before impersonating me, dedicated the performance to me. After she was done, she showed the video of me doing it. I'm still deciding if I'm embarrassed, upset, or happy. Everyone got a laugh out of it, which is good I guess...

NUMBER FOUR: I realized my trash-talking has rivaled that of a Michigan or Ohio State fan and I need to tone it town pronto. This came to me as I watched my Duckies struggle against the Boilermakers, wondering what all the people would say to me if my Ducks lost. Note to self: The Ducks are damn good, but they aren't invincible...

NUMBER THREE: I heard a good joke today…
Me: Knock knock?
You: Who’s there?
Me: Smell mop…
You:….figure it out

NUMBER TWO: Lady chasing Amanda around the wall that divides our kitchen and living room.

Who knew dogs could fishtail!

NUMBER ONE: By far the highlight of the weekend...
My mom and Godmother are in the kitchen at my Godparent's house. My mom sees a plastic container with little cookies in it, some have sprinkles, some don’t. My mom decides she wants one, and bites into it, or tries to anyway. She thinks to herself “damn, this cookie is friggin hard as a rock.”

My mom: “I’m gonna have to throw this cookie away, it’s hard as a rock, I can’t even bite into it!”
Tracy: That’s because it’s a dog treat.

I text my sister and say “mom just ate a dog treat! Hahahah.” Amy texts back and says “what a bitch. Get it? Bitch? Hahah!”

Don't tell me you wouldn't bite into one of these...

It was a good weekend.

Charlie Rose

2008-09-04T21:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this is day 4 with Chuck. I love this dog. Although he is not quite as exciting as I expected he'd be, he's still awesome.

He wakes me up every day at about 1am by leaping onto the bed. He chooses to leap onto me rather than the empty side of the bed. Go figure. Then he snuggles up next to me, and from 1am until about 6am is cuddle time. Then, he wakes me up again, either with a paw to the boob or a wet nose to the eye. It's time to eat. I stay in bed, and he repeats the paw-to-the-boob/wet-nose-to-the-eye moves at 20 minute intervals. Finally, I give in and feed the pooch.

He loves the kitchen, and I don't make him stay out of it like his mommy does, sorry sis. He really likes the fridge. Not sure if that's because it's FLIPPIN HOT, or he knows there's stuff in there that humans put in their mouth and he wants it.

He sleeps a lot, but he's so cute I don't mind. It's like even though he's asleep I can't bear to do anything but patiently wait for him to come over and bug me.

He loves my body pillow. Amy, you should get him one. I have a full bed and I've slept comfortably with him and the body pillow. You have a queen. Really, he loves it.

I gave him a bath today and I'm pretty sure he hated it. He pouted for a solid five minutes and would barely look at me. Then, I grabbed the squeaking football and threw it and all was forgotten. Gotta love dogs!

Tomorrow it will be off to the ULV soccer game so I can show him off. Maybe he'll snag me a hot guy...

Mo-Town on Labor Day

2008-09-01T17:01:00.000-07:00

I went out with my sisters Amy and Tiffany for Tiffany’s other sister’s 21^st b-day. Amy, Tiff, and I were the sober sisters. We went to Fat Cat in Modesto. I went to Modesto not expecting to go out, and not remembering how up-scale the Fat Cat is. I showed up in a cute tee, jeans, and casual tennis. Needless to say, I was incredibly under-dressed. I decided that rather than dwell on that, I’d just let my dance moves overshadow my outfit. I’m not sure if that mission was accomplished, but one creepy guy did approach me for a dance. He held both hands out, palms upward, and curled his fingers as if saying “come here, gorgeous.” Needless to say, I stayed where I was. He approached me instead. I maintained my personal bubble, and as I danced with this dude, recalled when I went to another club in Modesto for my 21^st birthday, during which time, I had no bubble. He left, and when he came back he asked if I missed him. Wow.

During our outing, the birthday girl had on some rockin’ heels which of course started to bug her about an hour into the evening. Tiff switched with her, but after about 15 minutes said she couldn’t handle the shoes. Now, if you want proof that heels are hard core, ask Tiff to wear them. If she can't handle them, you can't handle them. Surprisingly, Amy then wore the shoes for the b-day girl, thus giving up her comfy reef flip-flops, which she wore consciously so that she wouldn’t make me look like a total fool in what I was wearing. Now that’s love.

Saturday afternoon Amy and I got a surprise! We went to lunch at LuLu’s Diner. We used to go there for lunch a lot when we were younger. LuLu’s Diner consists of sitting at our kitchen table while our mom acts as a waitress. She presented us with real menus and they even had a special! Yeah, we’re 26, but I’m not gonna lie, it was still super fun! I ordered “Kimberly’s Classic Sandwich,” named after yours truly. On a scale of 0-10, I give it an 11. Amy ordered a “Piping Hot Bowl of Chili,” and she loved her meal as well. Then we watched the Ducks roll over the Huskies which is always a good time.

Now I’m back home in La Verne with Charlie Rose in tow. I’m dog-sitting for my sis and it’s already been SUPER fun! We went on a walk and went to the park. Now he’s napping. Amanda’s pooch, Lady, is still trying to get used to Charlie. She’s not too sure about him yet. Stay tuned for more cute pics!

Slacklining, anyone??

2008-08-24T21:23:00.000-07:00

Thursday and Friday of this week were spent anxiously awaiting the arrival of my twin sis who came to visit for the weekend. She arrived Friday night. Saturday, we took Charlie Rose, the best dog in the whole wide world (don’t argue with me, it’s true), to the park. Then we went shopping at REI to get supplies to put a slackline up in our front yard. Not sure what that is? Keep reading…

Before I speak of our slacklining extravaganza this afternoon, I must say that I LOVE being a twin…well, let me re-phrase that…I LOVE being AMY’S twin! I can’t imagine being a twin with some lame-o girl, instead my sister is totally bad-ass. She’s funny, sweet, gorgeous (we’re twins, ya know) and she is my favorite person in my whole life. For those of you who aren’t twins, here’s what it’s like for me: it’s like being best friends with someone who is just like me – only she knows more about fashion, she always knows how to make me laugh, she tells me when I’m being a retard just by looking at me, and she is ALWAYS there for me. It’s like I have a cooler version of me to consult with issues of importance. And…she can slackline…

A slackline is a piece of 1” thick “webbing” aka rope. Setting it up proved to be a bit of a hassle, but mostly simple, especially with my know-it-all sister there to work out the strategery. The trick is to stand on the rope and gain your balance, then walk on it heel-to-toe to the other end. When people get really good, they can jump on it, do spins, sit, surf it, and all kinds of cool stuff. You-tube it, or stay tuned to this blog because some day, I’ll be bad-ass like my brother and nephew. My sister…well, on a skill level scale of 1 – 10, I’d give her a 5.862. Amy had a slackline in the front yard of her old house, so she’s pretty practiced. She hopped up on it with no problem and could get almost mid-rope before she lost her balance.

Me, well, I'm a 2/10. It’s been a good two years since I’ve been on a slackline, and it showed. I could stand up on it but keeping my balance once standing is my current hurdle to get over. And, Amy thinks I may be part cat because when I fell off, I landed on all fours 80% of the time. Is that bad?

My house mates, Amanda and Jessica, were similar to me in skill level. I tried to get my Godfather to do it when he came over, but he said he couldn’t think of anything he’d like to do less than get on a slackline. He’s also a USC fan. Enough said. (Just kiddn' ya G-Money!)

My slack-line adventure has just begun. Stay tuned, pretty soon I’ll be doing cartwheels on that thing! Well…maybe not, since I don’t like to be upside-down, which I already discussed…

Lawn Lady Land

2008-08-15T19:21:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I'm our gardener. It is my job to mow the lawn, and I've made it my job to get rid of our weed problem. See, we had this clover stuff that completely took over our lawn in the 2 weeks after we moved in while we searched for a lawn mower. I went to Orchard Supply and the very helpful gardening guy showed me this spray stuff to use. Well, I used it and sure enough the weeds turned yellow in a matter of a week. I started pulling them out and I've probably spent about 10 hours out there total pulling weeds out over the last 3 weeks. I just finished the last bit of them today.

Unfortunately, now that the weeds are gone, our grass is practically dead. I'm frustrated. I went back to OSH, found the same helpful green thumb who showed me to some fertilizer. I fertilized frantically that very day because we're having a big housewarming party tomorrow. Well, that was a week ago. It's still dead. I'm going to try not to be embarrassed by our ridiculously ugly back lawn. There are beautiful green patches, brown dirt patches, and yellow dead grass that looks like straw. Doesn't that make you want to pull out a blanket and have a picnic?

BTW, did I mention I've spotted two HUGE black widows out there!??!! YIKES!

So, today I mowed the lawn for the third time in my life. I'm getting the hang of it. I've got to say, I feel like quite the self-sufficient woman mowing my own lawn. That is, of course, until I ha completed the front lawn and got about two strips through our back lawn - if you can call it that - and the dang mower runs out of gas! So, I decide to just go to the gas station as disgusting as I am - dirty, sweaty, and probably smelly - to get a gas can and fill it with gas. I do so, and when I get home to dump the gas into the mower, the instructions on how to get the spout thingee into the gas can were NOT helpful. I ended up just dumping it in without the spout, hoping that when I pulled the cord to start the mower I didn't spontaneously combust. Luckily, I started the mower unscathed.

Being the Lawn Lady has its ups and downs. Anyone out there have any tips to revive my back lawn??

What if I don't "need" Jesus?

2008-08-12T23:01:00.000-07:00

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare” (Isiah 55:1-3).

In our Bible study the other day, one friend asked a question about how to minister to people when their lives are great – when their family is stable, they have a good job, good friends, and they are financially secure. Why would someone in this situation feel like they need Jesus when their life is going just fine? I have an interesting perspective on this because I was one of those people – my life was great when I started exploring church. When I came to know God, my parents were happily married; I had a supportive family, did well in school, had a good job, knew where I was going in life, and felt completely capable of getting there.

As my relationship with God grew, He showed me that while I was a “good person,” there were some things in my life I could do better. When I opened my heart to the abundant life I could find in Christ, I began to realize the God who created me loves me, died for my sins so that I might live in freedom, and guides my path in this life. The happiness I had before I knew God was empty and based on worldly things – things that will not last and will never be as strong as the Almighty God. The happiness I have found with God is indescribable. The love I have found in God far surpasses any other.

God has helped me see people for who they are and how He sees them rather than seeing them for what I think they should be but are not. As I began to put my trust in the Lord, I was also able to not worry so much, although this is a constant battle for me. When I worry, God proves me wrong 100% of the time. I have also learned that God desires to speak to me and show Himself to me if I seek Him with all of my heart, believe He hears me, and trust that He has me in the palm of His hand.

God will do this for you as well. I want to encourage you that no matter what you are facing (or not facing) in your life, Christ can make all things new (2 Corinthians 5:17). He can show you a happiness and peace you never imagined just as He has done for me. He can show you that the happiness you currently hold is only the beginning. Are things always perfect? No way. God will strengthen you through trials, but he will also bless you with love and good fortune, and He will challenge you to be more than you are. He will bring you freedom like you’ve never known. He may come to you in a whisper, or he may knock you upside the head with something, but I know one thing for sure – if you don’t have a relationship with God, He is seeking you and waiting for you even if you aren’t seeking Him. If you have a relationship with God and you aren’t walking with Him, He is waiting for you to come back to Him. If you don’t know, ask God or ask me. I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I can tell you what I know.

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 4:13).

Me No Wanna Mamajuana

2008-08-10T22:29:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went to Desert Hot Springs to hang out with some friends from grad school. Namely, Sarah, Dave, and Laef, and Allison. Allison, Laef and I arrived late – around 10pm. We hung out and chatted about several interesting topics such as babies, folding towels, doing dishes, buying homes, financial responsibility…a lot of other stuff too but I found myself drifting occasionally to ponder my position on these topics. I found that Allison, Sarah and I are kindred spirits – we all know we are too anal about some things, too organized, and that we can’t help ourselves. Over the course of the weekend, I was completely comfortable in my role as the 5^th wheel…for the most part. After the stimulating conversation and several adult beverages, we had a dance party, a gymnastics party, and a floor-sliding party.

The dance party is self explanatory. The gymnastics party consisted of me as the official judge, and Allison and Sarah as contestants. In the somersault event, Sarah received a score of 8.5 and Allsion got a perfect 10. Impressive that these girls could do such impressive acrobatics while very intoxicated. We had to discontinue the cartwheel event as Sarah almost suffered amputation of the R ankle by ceiling fan. Then came the splits competition. Allison pulled a muscle so we discontinued that event as well. Note to self: stay away from Mamajuana from the Dominican Republic – it results in jumping around uncontrollably, 30+ women doing gymnastics, the taking off of pants, and several other interesting experiences I merely witnessed as I passed on the pungent liquor. The floor-sliding party was exhilarating as it was the last time I did it. We put on special slippery socks and sprinted from the carpet onto the hardwood floor. Once on the hardwood floor we proceeded to slide quite elegantly (with the exception of Laef and Allison’s first try) across the floor. This kept us occupied for about thirty minutes. See pictures at http://www.allisonjanetross.blogspot.com.

We spent Saturday lounging by the pool and watching the Olympics. We ate a delicious Italian dish, then Allison, Laef, and I introduced Sarah and Dave to flip cup. We played outside on their back porch and it was SUPER windy. I will never again play flip cup in the wind. The results are not good – pole dancing contest (which I won, by the way) and then I ended up doing a classy rendition of Regulators by Warren G. Thank goodness there was no video camera – I learned my Youtube lesson the hard way. Also, Allison and Sarah cornered me as if we were on a 3^rd grade playground. Literally, they pushed me into a corner and told me I either had to take a shot of the Mamajuana or do a somersault. See, I don’t like to be upside down and haven’t done a somersault in, oh, about 15 years. Something about it terrifies me. Well, of course I chose the somersault and I DID IT!! Wow, peer pressure can be liberating! After that, we watched some Olympics and I proceeded to fall asleep on the couch.

Good times! I’m ready for the Oregon v. USC football game so I can see these fools again!

My First Official (Non-Athletic Training) Blog

2008-08-01T14:45:00.000-07:00

Allison Ross-almost-Morris, you've inspired me to start a blog. I think this may be much more fun than Myspace or Facebook...we shall see. I am a regular blogger on the NATA website (National Athletic Trainer's Association). I lead the "young professionals blog" and I love it. I get to stir up conversation and try to encourage and motivate people. This blog might have an encouraging entry once in a while, but mostly I hope I can give you insight into my life and try to make myself seem interesting.

I'm going to hang out with Allison, Laef, Dave, and Sarah in about a week and I am stoked. I hope they bring that cute little kitty, Bruiser. I saw the big fat cat on Regis and Kelley this morning. Why is that stupid cat getting all this publicity? What about me? I'm unique. I'm cool, I'm hip. I have a twin sister. I can make people laugh. I do a KILLER Cher impression. Whatev. I don't like cats anyway. I like kittens, but not really cats...unless they're nice and cuddly, they don't annoy me and they leave me alone when I ask them to.

Now, on to the blog I read of Allison's that inspired me to start my own blog - the 5.6...no, 5.8...no, 5.4 earthquake that rocked southern California two days ago. Here are my thoughts.

1. When the earthquake hit, here's what went through my head. Picture me...sitting at my desk...emailing...thinking....*BOOM* (First I heard a boom and thought it was the volleyball camp in the gym above my office). I think "That's odd...wait a minute...why are things moving? What's ha...EARTHQUAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I sit for a moment longer, then decide I should do something. I stand up) I think "This is DEFINITELY an earthquake! Is it the big one? SHIT! Do I get under my desk? It's pretty sturdy. Do I go to my doorway? Do I bolt outside? SHIT! Screw it, I'm getting out of here!" I ran outside and almost ran into two little boys who had obviously just about crapped their pants. One said "I just wanted a drink of water!" Then, I look over my shoulder at the construction site and see the workers literally sprinting down the flights of stairs to get away from the building they were obviously convinced was about to topple over. Then, just like that, it was over and people realized it was over and there was silence. I walked around for a bit not wanting to go back inside for fear of an aftershock. I eventually did, and thought "Damn, that was a friggin' earthquake!" My hands were shaky for about an hour afterwards. Is that normal?

2. Have you ever seen Dane Cook's skit about hearing a car accident and how everyone wants to feel like they have something to contribute even if they have no idea what was going on? Let me yog your memory..."Where were you? I was in my kitchen cleaning a dish. I heard the noise so I came out. Shoes? F*ck shoes! Look at this guy! Shoes." Every conversation I had that day reminded me of this skit. Here are some things I heard
"Where were you when the earthquake hit?"
"Were you scared?" (Dumb question. Anyone who says no = liar)
"I thought it was the big one!!"
"The cars were moving independently of each other!"
It's just funny to me how even I couldn't resist telling my story (see #1) and asking others about theirs. I guess there's something about the earth shaking that brings us Californians' together. Weird.

3. I said I was going to go to the store and make myself an earthquake preparedness kit. Still haven't. Hope that doesn't bite me in the ass.

Okay, I think this inaugural blog is long enough. Peace out, homies. Until next time.