i cannot begin to tell you how much has happened in the last week so here are the highlights:

• dad’s birthday.  basically, jeromy and i went over to my parents’ house last saturday for my dad’s birthday.  i bought him some longhorns stuff (a sweatshirt and a tshirt, which i later exchanged for a larger size) and some dublin dr. pepper (which i picked up on my adventure in stephenville last week).  also threw in a free calendar from a tool store i got that day.  it was super cute and funny and i think dad enjoyed this gift more than any of the others i got… which felt like a parent getting a gift for a kid only to watch the child gleefully play with the box.  heh.
• work.  and tons of it.  it’s thursday and i have already gotten 40 hours plus some.  as a result, i’ve been kinda tired and stressed, but nothing major. 
• stars hockey game.  went to go watch the stars do their preseason thing last night.  they got whooped by colorado – they really need to pull it together soon.  it was jeromy’s birthday yesterday and his sister scored some tickets at work, so that was his gift to make the day fun for him.  they were platinum tickets… which meant parking in the garage and no lines.  it was super nice and despite the defeat, i had a good time.  i absolutely love going to hockey games.  it’s a good sport for an impatient person such as i to watch.  jeromy seemed to have a good time, too – it was his first hockey game.  you gotta love a guy who makes jokes about the midriff-showing ice girls who skate out there during breaks and wave to the crowd.  i was not amused.  neither was he.  so the side comments flew.  and i think i love him more for that.  there was a game with some of the crowd members that looked kinda fun.  the individual would sit in a sled and they would kinda “sling” you (with a giant slingshot amazingly enough) across the ice where you would try to knock over giant bowling pins.  i don’t know why i found it so entertaining but i did.  i had a young couple (high school maybe?) next to me that needed to get a room.  i found it interesting when the girl was showing her boyfriend her fresh tattoo on her leg… of a GIANT marajuana leaf and dice underneath.  classy.
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on friday, i worked half a day. jeromy had the day off. so the day before, he and i made plans to have lunch with my dad. i made the invitation to daddy without much thought as to how it was being interpreted on the other side. apparently, mom thought “something was up” and that the lunch was a way to break some big news to dad. poor daddy… i think for the first half of lunch, he thought there was some announcement that was going to be made. but it was just lunch. it was nice to spend time with dad in that way. jeromy and i rode in dad’s ‘68 mustang that he’s working on restoring. jeromy came up to the office for a couple of minutes with me and then i went to mom’s, where i picked up bacon for the weekend. one of cookie’s puppies has come back to live with mom (the one named “toffee”) and he and bacon have apparently become close. they play constantly and sleep together. in theory, mom is supposed to be finding another home for toffee, but there has been no effort made thus far.  i predict that he stays.  i’ve already heard the phrase, “but he is so well behaved…” and so on.

after picking up bacon, i took her to meet up with jeromy and jack at petsmart. both bacon and jack went to the groomers for the “works” and got bathed and had their nails clipped. while waiting for the dogs, jeromy and i went shopping at different pet stores to find a new collar and leash for bacon and jack. we went to pet-o-rama and looked at the aquarium stuff just for fun. i found out that there are these little “nano cube” salt water tanks which allows people to have a smaller, more affordable, easy-to-maintain salt water environment to enjoy. they had a 12 gallon one on display witha large variety of coral and such and i was super impressed. and now i want one. (more…)

weekend rundown…

went to mom’s house during the day on saturday. just hung out and relaxed. i went shopping afterwards and scored a pair of jeans for cheap. whoo hoo!
going out with the girls from church to babe’s on saturday night was good. babe’s is a chicken place – you can either order fried chicken or chicken fried steak. the sides are rolls, mashed taters, and corn. it’s an ecclectic place and i heard that it was even featured on food network at one point in time. we sat at a table that was being waitressed by one of the girls we all go to church with. needless to say, i ate too much. i was going to hang out with neo and jeromy after that, but they were well into their computer stuff for the night and i was tired. i called it a night early on.

went to church this morning. we talked about jonah. a lot of people seemed tired during the main service. after that, i hung out with jeromy. i cooked tuna noodle for dinner and we watched a movie. now, we’re just watching a documentary on osama bin laden.

the five year of september 11 is tomorrow. but everyone knows that since that’s all that is on tv these days. i’m not going to go into a big oratory piece about september 11 and what it meant to the nation – that’s been done by far too many talented (and untalented) writers by now. whenever i think about the day – i, like everyone i know, remember where i was. i was at work that day – in the morning a coworker let me know what was happening. we were all glued to the tvs in the building. i remember the overwhelming feeling that i just wanted to go home and be with my family – mostly, my mom. it’s a feeling i won’t forget. looking back, it really shows me what is important to me. but a lot of people felt this sensation. i didn’t feel like the end of the world was coming, but i knew that the event was going to trigger something big. the days following were drenched in everyone looking deeper it seems. on the street or walking around campus, everyone made eye contact with me, nodded, and looked down. there was quiet – lots of quiet at school the days immediately following. people drove better on the roads. and then things went back to normal.  people cut each other off on the highway.  went about their day without even acknowledging you.  but there’s something to be said about at least taking a minute to remembering.  for all of the flaws that this country (and world, for that matter) might have, there are common ties that unite us.

this upcoming week at work is going to be a little busier than normal. i’m not too worried… i really don’t mind working late at work if i know in advance that it’s just how it’s going to be.

the last couple of days have been a blur. the weekend was mainly full of relaxing and such. we finally got rain around these parts, which was a welcome change. i’m not a fan of summer, and i can’t wait for fall to come. there’s nothing like that crisp air to make your lungs tingle just a bit and remind you of your breathing mechanisms. good stuff.

i made it to church finally. it seems that the last several weekends have been plagued with difficulties in making it to church. sunday school covered the story of job. and it’s a story i’ve heard tons and tons since i was a wee one. basically – blessed guy has a bunch of really bad things happen to him and he doesn’t ever curse god and then god blesses him because of his faithfulness. but as always (which keeps me returning), the class spun the oh-so-familiar tale in a new way that had me really applying the lessons to my life. after really reading verse by verse, i got a very clear picture of just how much pain and anguish job was in. and yet, he never denounced his faith in god. i’m sure he wondered why it all happened. and perhaps even felt abandoned. but never once did he curse his maker – his loyalty endured and did not waiver despite the extreme circumstances. but i’m sure job’s ability to do that didn’t just show up overnight. his ability to handle the difficulties were a result of his established relationship with god. and while i don’t think i’ll ever have a situation as extreme as job’s, i know that we all have our various “breaking points.” but if we handle these times with our heads held high, we can in turn, become grateful for our trials. they turn our wimpy spirits into ones of strength. we become more christlike – humble and submissive to the father’s will. they give god the “wiggle room” he needs to really show us what he can do in our lives. in my personal scripture study, i’ve been drawn to the old testament. sometimes, the faith exhibited in the chapters seem “larger than life.” and i want that – i want faith that is larger than life. faith that is all-consuming. i’ve seen the wonders that god has worked in my life. i have so many blessings that extend beyond the tangible job and physical needs (which are awesome by themselves alone). god has protected my heart in times of hardship and has allowed me to never feel isolated. and when i see all the lonliness and sadness in the world, it’s clear to me that the happiness in my heart is nothing short of a miracle.

on labor day (yesterday), the highlight of the day was going to the gun range with jeromy, brandon (jeromy’s brother in law), jeff (jeromy’s other brother in law), and my dad. this was the first time dad met anyone in jeromy’s family, so that was nice. once i thought about it… and knowing that our families haven’t met in almost a year of dating, it seemed odd that an encounter hadn’t been had by this point in time. we stayed out there for a couple of hours just shooting guns and having a good time. i’m actually getting used to how a gun feels and i even hit some stuff. i admit that i enjoy it more than i thought i ever would. i remember when i went for the first time in years last year with jeromy, and my mom kinda made a joke about how i was doing things that were out of my character, but the “getting out of the box” proved good for me. and that goes for recent changes in all areas of my life. i admit that i’m kinda running mandy version 2.5 right now. things are shifting. interests are changing. priorities are getting firmed up. but so it goes with life. (more…)