Deep in the Heart of Texas

It's snowing in Austin, and the Spurs just won in double overtime. What's going on in South Carolina?

...

Turkey Day 2008

It seems it's time for an update on here! Lots has happened in the last three weeks.

- Spur is growing. He got his first bath. His great-Aunt Betty also sent him a care package full of toys, half of which are already littered around the living room floor in the form of stuffing. He can go up stairs now, but still not down them; he like chasing leaves that have fallen off of trees; and his affinity for strangers and other (bigger) dogs has earned him his share of new friends and also poundings.

- Youth Group is going well! The Beach Retreat was a couple weeks ago, but we didn't make it because I was sick, so Kyle made me stay in bed and rest (against my wishes, but he was quite persistent) ;)

- On Monday, Kyle was promoted from Ensign to Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG)! There was a ceremony on his ship for all the promoted Ensigns, so I took a long lunch to be able to go. Two chiefs put on his new shoulder boards, and I got to put on his new cap. I'm so proud!

- Speaking of work, mine has been going steadily downhill. My resignation letter is written, and all that has to be done now is turn it in. I'm looking forward to putting more time towards our home and perhaps being a part-time employee somewhere (I think cashiering at Piggly Wiggly would be fun... "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton" style.) :)

- Thanksgiving in Charleston was a great one this year, although we did miss our families. We bought a dinner at Piggly Wiggly... a whole turkey, gravy, green beans, rolls, dressing... the whole shebang. I made some mashed sweet potatoes, and three of Kyle's shipmates/friends came over. Since we had purchased our Thanksgiving meal, we asked that they either bring a few bucks or a dish. I was pleasantly surprised by their spinach casserole, butternut squash, and Martha Stewart dressing. The skies were clear and blue and sunny, and the temperature couldn't have gotten higher than 65. After a late lunch, we went out to throw the football, and Spur turned out to be a stellar monkey in the middle ;) Once the cold (and another dog flattening our football) drove us back inside, we spent the night cheering on the Longhorns while playing Risk until 1am.

- And while we're on the topic, the Longhorns played as stellarly against the Aggies as could have been done, but it didn't seem to me to be quite stylistic enough to earn the style points needed to come out on top of this three-way-tie-BCS-debacle. Seriously. What the heck.

- Now, as Black Friday comes to an end, Tax-Free- Firearm- Weekend in South Carolina is just beginning. Today, I became the proud new owner of a pink Smith & Wesson "Lady Smith".38 special. It'll only be a matter of time before I spin it around my forefinger like an old western pro. :)

Three more week until Kyle and I are headed home, and we can't wait to see everyone! A South Texas Christmas will be the perfect break from this cold that we've been waiting for.

Spur!

So... we got a dog. I had brought it up in passing a week or two ago. We thought it was a good idea, then we talked ourselves out of it (as recently as two days ago), but here we are! He's a "Cavapoo": half Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and half poodle. He won't get larger than 15 pounds. After soliciting names from our junior highers at youth group tonight (all the finalists actually came from our volunteer peers: Humphrey, Tobit, and Frances), we decide on Spur. Because we like the Spurs, we're Texan, he was a semi-spur-of-the-moment purchase, and he's spunky... like a spur?

Kyle's determined to make him a hunting dog.

I think he and his cousin Maddie will get along peachy keen.

After bringing him home, we (almost immediately) had to go to youth group, so we put him in his kennel (his breeder had been crate-training him, so we were continuing the habit). When we got home, this was the scene. Think he likes the crate training? Haha!

What a cutie!

He liked my bubble gum :)

Spurrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Things Spur likes: socks (more than real toys), feet, our dining table chairs, chewing, our Bevo rug, and cavorting.
Things Spur doesn't like: his leash, newspaper in the kennel, tile floors, and cracks in the sidewalk.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Well, eff.



I guess we'll be stocking canned food and ammo for the next three months.

A Halloween Celebration

I'm now a fan of picture posting here. After all, a picture speaks a thousand words. But just as some background: these are our baby pumpkins, and we made a couple home-proud jack-o-lanterns. And we watched "Van Helsing." Now as long as our Halloween spirit doesn't attract candy grabbers Friday night (since we won't have any), we'll be good!

"Deep in the heart of Texas!"

You'll be happy to know these pumpkin seeds are now in edible form :) Mm!

I can't see anything wrong with this picture. :)

The final product resting on our balcony. Good night!

The Weekend in Pictures.

Tyler came into town for an interview! Inspite of the torrential downpour, Kyle and I risked our lives and crossed flooded streets to show him at least one facet of Charleston living: Andolini's Pizza. Shannon, a Rolling Rock for you :)

This is me impersonating Eva: making Halloween cupcakes for our junior-highers!

We went to the Charleston Corn Maze! We had a record time of 21 minutes.

We picked these lucky pumpkins. They get to come to a great home.

Good times. Charlestonian falls are great as far as I can tell so far.

Baby It's Cold Outside

So the first cold-front of the winter blew in today, and we enjoyed a nippy mid-50s day. In honor of winter, instead of counting pink polos at Crossover, we will be counting Northface jackets. Tonight's count: 2. ...and 8 pairs of boat shoes. ...and 3 Clemson hoodies.

Kyle's and my talk tonight went well! It was about materialism, and we tied in the readings for this Sunday (Isaiah 45:1, 4-6; 1Thess 1:1-5b; Matt 22:15-21). ...How material things don't matter (give to Caesar what is due to Caesar...) because we should be investing in the kingdom of heaven and loving God above all ("I am the Lord and there is no other"). One way to do that is by loving people (from Paul's letter). It was the first week that a talk was given in the church (instead of the parish hall where our meetings are held), so it was a lot heavier than talks of the past, and I think the kids appreciated the message. It really helped our relationship with them... they know we're there for them now, and we're there for good. It was touching when, after our talk during the spaghetti dinner, they would come up to us and introduce themselves (not to mention helpful, considering there are 40+ kids).

In other news, I'm now indispensable at work. Yesterday, Dr. Buncher called me back to his office to "show me something" (his code for "let me show you how to do such-and-such correctly.") This time, he was trying to schedule a flight for his family's (including his daughter's roomate) Christmas vacation to Colorado. So, for an hour Friday afternoon, I created my boss's OnePass account on Continental's website. And I created his password, purchased the seats, and selected their seats together. That - among other reasons - makes me feel more like a personal assistant rather than the transcription-slash-medical-records-girl. I would feel a little degraded if Beth (the doctor's wife / "CEO") hadn't asked, "Megan what are we going to do without you after you leave?" Considering that's eight months away, and she's already asking, it's a bit of a silver lining. ;)

Well, the 'Horns' halftime report is over. Time to watch them hold their 35-3 lead. Hook 'em!

Crossover

Crossover is the name of the Jr. Hi Youth Group, and tomorrow night, Kyle and I are giving a talk! Pray for us please!

Electiontime

My husband is zealous about his politics, and I have gotten my fair share of programming, pre-programming, and post-programming analysis. And I'm more confused than ever as to the state of society's psyche and how it could possibly be what it is.

Self-delusion seems to be running amok in America. On the radio the other day in the car, we heard a woman say, "Middle-class America needs health care. Middle-class America needs this. Middle-class America needs that." Instantly, Kyle and I looked at each other: Middle-class America has health care. Barack Hussein Obama's "middle-class" is not technically that. But why should we be surprised? In a sociology class at UT, I learned about society's desire to be average and not to stand out. In a national survey 90% of Americans consider themselves "middle-class" (and Irish. Hah.) Obviously, this is statistically and mathematically impossible.

I just can't believe that a nation founded on Christian values, state governments, and democracy would get so wholly confused and turned around.

"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." -Abraham Lincoln

Spreading the wealth is socialism. Sharing the wealth is capitalism (people earn a wage, then tithe, donate, etc.) A government body - a federal government body at that - taking upon itself to distribute wealth in a nation appalls me to no end.

My husband now has my full permission to buy up as many guns as we can afford and store in our shoebox of a home to build a family arsenal. He has tomorrow afternoon off, and he says he's going to go get "us" an AR-15... and a handgun for me... and maybe take a trip to the Cut to get street value. (Kidding.)

[Disclaimer: To all my lovely friends who support Obama, I still love you. I am not looking for a fight, there are just frustrations of which to be let go. ...And Kyle says (to all my lovely friends who support Obama) don't vote twice.]

Kyle would also like me to announce (why he doesn't post here himself, I don't know) that he will be running for President upon the forthcoming of his 35th birthday: Carter-Francis 2020.

Red River Shootout 2008

I don't know who we worked with last weekend, but these junior highers tonight were animals. Kyle and I went to Gene's Hofbrau (a local pub) afterward for a little unwinding and a game of Scrabble. And the Pink Polo Count: 1 (and a pastel yellow, which we'll count). 2.

And how 'bout those Longhorns? At the end of the program, the announcer said, "Longhorn fans all over the state are celebrating!" And I thought, "...all over the nation." Then it started raining: God gave us confetti for our own little celebration! It was nice :)

Thank you, Lord.

Dr. Buncher's office, this is Megan. How can I help you?

Today, for the third day in a row, I found myself at work thinking, "I like this." After floating around areas for a few days, I seem to be stuck in the transcription office, transcribing the doctor's dictations. It's simple enough and repetitive, but each case is different so it keeps it interesting without being too difficult. The girls at work are warming up to me too. For you "Scrubs" fans, you'll appreciate this: I work with Laverne. Except she goes by "Carol." The first day of work, she was giving a patient directions to the clinic, and all I heard from the next room was, "Honey, you better turn yourself around!" and there's also the occasional, "Mmhmm." In true Laverne fashion, she didn't speak to me much the first couple days and ignored my questions. Oh, Laverne... :) Then yesterday she called me "little girl," which I took to be a positive step, and by today we're like BFFL. Except she doesn't like pinto beans, and I love pinto beans. I wonder what Laverne-like nickname Carol will give me (sometimes when I don't know what's going on, I feel like Eliot, so maybe it'll be "pipsqueak"... or whatever she calls her.)

Tomorrow, Kyle and I are going to (well, watch the UT-OU game, of course, and also) go to our second youth group meeting. I wonder how many boys in pink polos will show up this week (last week's count = 2). We signed up to go to "Junior High Rally," which is a junior high youth group conference in Columbia, SC. It's going to be November 1st. Time away from home that day: 7am to 9pm. Yowza.

I hope all of my friends that are going have a wonderful time at the Red River Shootout tomorrow. Eat a Fletcher corn dog for me at the state fair.

Nathan Miller: "It's 2:51 and I still fear and respect the University of Oklahoma football program."

Wise.

Luisa, #426: Our First Home :)

A closet first welcomes you as you enter, so you gotta choose left or right. Here is "right": living room/dining room.

Kyle in our living room with his "get me a beer, woman" look. I'm so lucky.

This is to the left of the closet. Our lovely kitchen. And my lovely husband.

Bedroom. Notice our Bevo rug infront of the "reading chair." And the bathmat adds a nice touch when stepping out of bed in the morning. :)

Four Week Anniversary

Four weeks married. Three weeks in Charleston.

Tonight was our first night of helping out at Blessed Sacrament's youth group. I had forgotten how energetic 6th-8th graders can be. Kyle and I were the new break-ins, and luckily we weren't hazed by the kids. Not everyone had the right names on their nametags, but other than that, we got through unscathed. In fact, we even made friends! We were asked if we would be at the beach retreat, and... if we were related.

"Yeah, he's my husband."
"Really? I thought you were brother and sister."
"Nope, we'rrrre married."
"You're kidding."
[Shows rings.]
"Aren't you a little young to be married?"

Hah.

All in all, it was a great experience! We met the priest, and he remembered us from our registration card, and we got a free dinner of spaghetti and funfetti cake (shout out to Eva).

In other news, I started my new job yesterday at Charleston Pain and Rehabilitation Center. It was... fine. The doctor has connections with an attorney / a number of attorneys in town, and we get all of his/their clients (i.e. if someone trips and falls and sues, we treat them.) My first day's task was pulling charts and making phone calls. I had to call people who had missed their appointment without notice and try to reschedule. More than once, the person on the list had missed their appointment because they were in jail. And they couldn't reschedule because... they were still in jail. Up side: I get to wear comfy scrubs.

The Longhorns are on air here tonight versus Colorado! I was in tears earlier today thinking about the prospect of not seeing them for an entire season. Kyle tried to soothe me by offering to get the College Football Package. As much as I don't want to spend money on that, I don't know how I'll handle a (re)separation after seeing them play tonight.

Oh, and... we didn't run in the 5K after all. Shocker.

Home

Well, Charleston is home now. Everything is put where it belongs (kinda), the pantry and fridge are stocked with real food items (as opposed to beer and frozen pizza). In short, this bachelor pad is now an actual home.

I've started this blog as a temporary fix to keep updated all the people we want to keep updated (and those who come across it per chance, too, I suppose). It may be updated daily, weekly, monthly, I don't know... but I figure we can try.

The first two weeks of my time here in Charleston were spent opening tens upon tens of wedding gifts and getting rid of the boxes any way possible. On several occasions, empty boxes were lined up, from floor to ceiling, blocking all access to the washer and dryer (and sometimes the front door). After Kyle and I had Christmas in September, the next week's task was thank you notes (I hope everyone got theirs!)

This week's task: the job hunt. I've given resumes to four physical therapy clinics, and I have one interview this week. I'm hopeful :) Besides (soon) having a job, I am also looking forward to getting involved in our church. It will be a great source of community and comfort while Kyle's gone underway. Kyle and I met with the youth minister last week for dinner to discuss getting involved, and we start this weekend! I'm excited to see what it's all about, and I'm really glad that it's something Kyle and I can share.

In other news, the weather here is beautiful. I've never lived in a place that has a distinguishable fall, and I must say, it's wonderful. Evening walks around our apartment complex are a dream, and maybe it's my own want and imagination, but I think the leaves are beginning to change colors.

This weekend is shaping up to be a good one: Kyle and I are running a 5K (that's five kilometers, not 5,000 miles) with our friend and his girlfriend, followed by BBQ, beer, and college football (which, inevitably, will be SEC games... it makes me sad). I hear Colt McCoy is improving, and I wish I were around to witness it. Last season's aversion to him is still present in me, and I wish I were able to witness his glorious ascent to make it go away. At least I have Sports Center.

Well, I may not have a paying job yet, but there's plenty to get done now. Hope all's well in the great state.

Pictures coming soon.