Merry Christmas!

We are very blessed with wonderful, thoughtful, and funny relatives and friends. Jeremy and I had a great Christmas. Today's highlights included:

A hook and metal tongs





Piles of gold and riches



(Just kidding. Do not rob us. We will use the aforementioned hooks to defend ourselves.)


I also have the best in-laws EVER. Hands down. This particular gift wins the 2006 prize for creativity/usefulness:


You may be asking, "why the &*^$$ is that useful?" Because I've got a debutante luncheon to attend on Wednesday and this is Alabama!

True Story

There was once a girl who was forced to compete in a pageant. Did I say pageant? I meant scholarship program.

This girl mistakenly believed that contestants were selected to compete based on the content of their applications. You cannot begin to imagine her embarassment when, during the course of the actual county-wide competition, she was asked to elaborate on her selection of Osama Bin Laden as one of the three most influential people in her life.

We go together like Paris and Britney

This is how I feel right now:



This is my friend who brings me comfort, happiness, and a new lease on life:



One more semester...just one more semester...

Add These To Your Amazon.com Wishlist!

My pick for the most concerning title: Population and Other Problems - by none other than CHINA.



Thanks, Dad!

Traveling for the holidays? Why not get your hip replaced while you sightsee?

The need for healthcare reform is a hot topic nationwide. I'm pretty certain Bush will charge the new Democrat leadership with sorting out both healthcare and Social Security (in under two years) as penance for ousting the Republicans. I sure hope somebody gets the job done.

Today I was introduced to the concept of "medical tourism". Medical tourism refers to the increasing numbers of Americans who, seeking cheap/new procedures, travel to foreign countries to have surgery. Originally popular with people desiring cosmetic procedures, it's becoming much more common for a broad range of medical necessities. Health insurance has become so expensive for employers, three different Fortune 500 companies and THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA are experimenting with medical tourism for heart bypasses, valve replacements, hysterectomies, and angioplasties. A heart-valve replacement costs insurers in the U.S. $71,401 versus $9,500 for the same procedure in India, travel and lodging included. Concerning? Yes, for lots of reasons.

For more information about medical travel agencies, you can check this out. I'm in no way endorsing the service, I just think it makes for an interesting read.

Barriers to Enjoyment

The following are the remaining projects that separate me from freedom/happiness/sleep/friends/outside communication/sanity/Christmas:

NOTHING!!!!

I AM FREE! :) :) :) :)

Person Eating Tasty Animals

I like turkey. Yummy. Speaking of eating animals...

I'll wouldn't be surprised if my academic cohort was behind this mishap. I particularly enjoyed the line about the cow costume. Poor minister!

Gobble Gobble Moo.

Holy cow. It is November 18!

Long time no blog. Sorry about that.

Not to be irreverent, or to knock Scientology weddings (just Scientology), but the betting has begun. How long will Katie last as Mrs. Crazy Cruise?

All I know is that she will get a killer book/magazine/movie deal out of their divorce.

Happy Birthday Mary Kate!

I love you Mary Kate! I hope you have a wonderful birthday celebration! A more wonderful "little" sister doesn't exist anywhere :)

In honor of your birthday, and to help you guess what your present is, I've put together a mini-photo album of some back tattoos I saw at the Austin City Limits Music Festival.

Had these people known I was (1) photographing them and (2) capturing them as a gift to you, they would no doubt join me in singing,

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU,
HERE'S LOTS OF TATTOOS,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MARY KATE,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!"

Everything You Ever Wanted To Ask...

A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants

Mom, I love you and got 50 (pronounced FI-tee) Cent to write this for you:



Happy Birthday to you!
I just stepped in poo!

Happy Birthday dear Mom!
Let's go to the prom!

XOXOXOXOOXXOOXXOXOXOXOOXOXXOXOXOXOXOXO

Happy Labor Day!

Howdy.

I do hope everyone is enjoying Labor Day weekend. I'm immensely grateful for the additional day without class as I have a billion pages to read for three of my seminars. The fourth is a Monday course and we've not yet met.

Jeremy and I just returned from Houston. We enjoyed watching Tom Glavine pitch for the Mets in Friday's game against the Astros, courtesy my Grandpa Ed. :) :) :) We celebrated the wedding of our friends Dave and Averill on Saturday evening, also in Houston, but I have no photos to share.

I've been experiencing cell phone issues recently. The phone was lost for about three weeks before I got a replacement, and this weekend I forgot my phone charger. Errrrrr. At least I won't use too many minutes? I have now lost just about everyone's phone number since they were all stored in my old phone. My sister and I must share the "I lose cell phones often" gene. She flushed her phone down the toilet. I still don't have a clue where mine ended up. I did drop an entire set of xylophone bars down the toilet once. Then my mom made me fish all of them out.

Dinner anyone?

Does this photo need a caption?

The Three Ps: Parents - Poop - Peanuts

My parents just visited. It was so wonderful to have company! We got to salsa dance at the Oasis, see a scorpion, learn about the long and proud history of the State of Texas, and visit Fredricksburg. Here are a few pictures taken at the Altdorf Restaurant and Biergarten:





On an entirely different note, I just brought the cat home from his annual trip to the vet. He HATES the vet. He had to be given three different sedatives: one solid, one liquid, and one gas - none of which knocked him out. Once I got him home he was totally fine and stopped machine-gunning poop.

Now that you are hungry I thought I'd post a recipe given to me by a friend from church. Jeremy and I are trying to make large quantities of food on weekends so that we have more free time during the week. It has proven to be cost effective and easy. I made this soup and it is awesome, but not recommended for those of you with peanut allergies. You can eat this stuff for days and it only gets better with time.

Peanut Soup:

Ingredients:
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter (no sugar/no salt variety-low fat is also good)
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
2 onions
6 garlic cloves
8 cups vegetable broth
1 (28 oz) can of whole, peeled tomatoes - to be used diced
1 red, yellow, or orange bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp. crushed black pepper

Directions:
Saute chopped onion and minced garlic in peanut oil until clear. Add broth, tomatoes, and all other ingredients EXCEPT brown rice. Simmer for 30 mins or more. Add rice and simmer for an additional 15 minutes (at very least).

Enjoy!

Memories

While packing for our recent move we came across two binders from our engaged retreat weekend. Having gone on a few retreats in college and high school we were anticipating something more rigorous than the "Encounter", a weekend low on theology and spirituality but saturated with fascinating conversations involving lift kits for monster trucks and what it's like to date your step-brother.

Many of the retreat exercises involved writing letters to your spouse-to-be. I came across a letter Jeremy wrote me that seemed a bit foreboding and demonstrated clearly how serious we were about the weekend's purpose:

"Erin, frankly I'm not sure that we will be able to overcome our difference in preferred brand of cigarettes. I mean, I've always been a Marlboro man and always will be. I know that you prefer the Newports, but I just can't handle them. After all, if you're going to have a smoke, make it worth the effort of lighting up."

Whew, harsh words. It's a good thing we've both switched from smoking to chewing tobacco.

The following excerpt from another of Jeremy's entries sums up our highly effective non-verbal communication plan:

"I think we should use more non-verbal communication. Like the middle finger... or the ear lobe... or maybe just punching. Next time you're really mad at me just sock me in the stomach. Once I get my wind back, I'll be happy to discuss with you how I can be more life-giving. Or we could do more of this fun journaling- that's non-verbal."

On the one hand you should read these entries and be horrified that such juvenile people were allowed to marry. On the other hand, you could be happy we found each other. :)

My new career

Let it be known to all that I am awesome. And forgetful. I locked us out of the townhouse today BUT I was able to successfully break in with a credit card. In under 5 seconds. Thank you Price family for teaching me useful life skills (belching and burglary)!

Thanks to Andrea for this hilarious list of really bad websites. Please note that some of them are a bit crude - my apologies in advance.

On a random note, one of the little girls at St. Louise House CANNOT remember my name, even though I've told her what it is about 10,005 times. She decided to simply call me "ballerina" today. How weird is that? I swear I don't wear leotards to work.

Moving!

Jeremy and I are getting ready to move. Mischa is helping!



Here's a few evening shots of the new place. We think it's quite cute.







A view from the front door:



Mischa is really excited about the new place.

It's Gettin' Hot in Here...

The car I'm driving has a broken fan. Running the heater at max capacity prevents the engine from overheating. The heat index reached 100 outside the car this afternoon.

Anybody want a ride? :)

Wedding Time!

Happy 4th of July!

I just returned to Austin after trips to Boston, Mobile, and Indianapolis. It has been a wild few weeks. Due to the circumstances of our travels, we've seen almost every relative and close friend in the past two weeks . On Sunday I also (without realizing it) hung out with either Michael or Ralf Shumacher (think Formula-1 racing) in the Indy airport and was nearly squashed by Taylor Hicks (American Idol) in O'Hare.

Now for the fun part. Pictures! Congrats to Sarah & Nick and Susanna & Nolan!

The new Rev. & Mrs. Nolan Donald:



Three of Susanna's bridesmaids (me, burkie, and lynne):



The new Mr. & Mrs. Klingler:



Lots of Hoosiers in attendance to celebrate with the happy couple - Go IU!



My cute husband:

We fought the law...

We had some trouble with the law this evening. Yes, Jeremy is experimenting with a life of crime. I've advised him against it based on my experiences in jail but he insisted on driving 30 miles per hour. Before you judge him for driving at such an excessive speed, know that UT's campus (scene of the crime) was completely deserted as it was 7:15 on a Saturday night, so he really wasn't endangering anyone.

Given that we are a shifty looking pair, it took two police cars to subdue the Browns. One officer guarded the passenger door (lest I bolt) while the other interviewed the suspect. Due to the utter ridiculousness of the situation we escaped with but a warning. Luckily my incessant giggling didn't irritate the officers. It was also a stroke of luck that Jeremy wasn't wanted for anything.

Happy Birthday, Jeremy, my handsome outlaw!

Oh yeah, it's almost our anniversary....

This made the news a few days ago. I thought it was timely given that the wedding season is now heavily underway.

Recipe for a good blog post

Movable letters on a church sign + you = funny blog post

We currently live next to a small church. They always have inspirational sayings on the sign in the parking lot and I want to share the messages with you. Not for your benefit, but because I want you to rearrange the letters. :) Now, I'm sure no one reading this has ever done such a thing, but for those of you (MOM!) who have the desire to rearrange letters but lack the nerve, height, or blood alcohol level, this post's for you.



Come on people. Make me laugh. I know you are all funny. :)

Best Internship Ever

I just started my internship this week. It could not be more fantastic.

My internship is at a transitional housing community for homeless women with children. There are only three paid staff members, and one Americorps worker (in addition to me). At any moment, I might get to hold a baby or play with one of the 22 children who frequently wander into the office. Sometimes I get to color or play with blocks when a child's mom is meeting with her case worker (do not tell the LBJ School-"playing" was not part of the internship requirement). The families are wonderful and the staff is even better!

My supervisor has been great about allowing me to take part in executive director-type activities. I get to tag along to board meetings, strategic planning sessions, fundraising brainstorms, and service projects. It is wonderful to know you can enjoy your work and have it mean something!

Jeremy is at a conference this weekend so I've planned to stay busy visiting some of our Gabriel Project moms. Two of our moms had babies within the past two weeks, so I should get to visit with them :) :) :)

Have a safe Memorial Day weekend!

The American President and Softball

Billy-Bob Clinton was the commencement speaker for the LBJ School Graduation. I had the opportunity to attend a dinner with him last evening. The dinner served as a fundraiser for a health policy research center and a rally of sorts for the democratic party in Texas. All of the democrats fit neatly in one room, but that meant it was quite an interesting who's who of American political figures.

Having recently attended a pro-life fundraiser for the Majella Society, which also served as an informal republican rally, there were a few similarities I found striking. Both dinners began with a prayer - last night's being the longest invocation I've ever witnessed. Both dinners talked about the importance of alleviating the healthcare expenses placed on the poor. The importance of selfless giving was emphasized by everyone. Parking for both events was $7 and both democrats and republicans are fond of chocolate mousse.

Now, a few differences: the Majella Society banquet stressed the importance of government assistance to the poor, while Bill Clinton stressed more personal giving and encouraged the elderly to get in shape so they cost less. (??) There was a large press section at last night's function, but no press covered Zell Miller's address at the Majella Society banquet. Ultimately, the most notable difference for me was the lack of stoned Majella Society banquet attendees.

On a lighter note, Jeremy and I watched some IU sports in Austin today. The softball team was competing in the NCAA Regionals on campus. It was a lot of fun and FREE! Sadly, IU lost but we were grateful for the opportunity to cheer on Hoosiers. There were a number of parents traveling with the IU players to support them. It was sort of like all the ballet moms who watched every single show, only these people yelled a lot, brought seat cushions, and wore visors.

Is it time for Oprah to retire from daytime TV?

Oprah's first guest today was a dog that can walk like a human.

Maybe she's hoping to take over David Letterman's time slot after he retires?

I'm having dinner with President Clinton this evening. Be on the lookout for what promises to be an interesting blog post tomorrow. :)

And there was much rejoicing

Yippee!!!

I just finished with classes, work (for the most part), and tap dancing! Yee-haw! I start my internship next week. I am all registered for first semester classes and they look awesome:family policy, volunteer management & nonprofit admin, lobbying for nonprofits, and healthcare finance. Speaking of healthcare finance...

Hospital bills are poopy. Clearly this is no revelation, but after a semester of putting things off, I finally got around to investigating the 3.5 trillion bills we received from my one brief emergency room visit in November. If only I could fall ill (or down) during normal business hours! What a savings that would be! I did learn that if you go to a federally funded hospital claim to be homeless and reveal that you have no insurance they MAY write you off as a charity case. Legally, all federally funded hospitals must provide a certain amount of "free" care. I wouldn't recommend homelessness, but still, it's an option. ;)
Speaking of homelessness...

Jeremy and I just secured our housing for the next few years. We are moving to an incredibly cute house in East Austin that has a YARD. It also has a front porch and more than one kitchen cabinet!!!!!! We are thrilled to pieces! Our new home is half a mile from UT in an awesome neighborhood doing its best to "Keep Austin Weird". I would post pictures, but it might freak out the current tenants to have us taking photographs thru windows, etc. PLEASE COME VISIT!!!! Everybody cool knows that Austin, Texas is THE place to be in mid-August! All the heat and hotness you could possibly want!

In closing, I'd like to publicly say HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to my Mom and to Mutti :) Jeremy and I are very very blessed to have such wonderful moms. We love you both!

Here is a little haiku in y'alls honor (which is proof my brain is fried):

"Wonderful homegirl
Loving patient matriarch"
Reads my new tattoo

Obvsiouly, I need a nap.

All in a day's work

I just saw Quentin Tarantino driving a red Mustang on South Congress. I was on my way to conduct a focus group with 15 homeless people. It's been a weird day.

Are we there yet?

Hello. My name is Erin. Sometimes I post things on this blog and sometimes I even return calls/e-mails that my wonderful friends send me! These pictures sum up my semester nicely though, and why I haven't been good at contacting the outside world.



Seriously, I have to issue a blanket apology for being such a SLACKER about staying in touch. By May 11th I should be able to return to some sort of normalcy and not have to resort to posting updates about my life on the internet at bizarre hours of the night. It is a little out of control when your own husband has to read your blog updates if he wants to know what's going on... If you are wondering/care what I've been up to, here is a peek. (That's only a draft.)

We are really excited about the summer because we get to visit with so many of our friends and family. Hooray! The theme for 2006 seems to be "wedding". Jeremy and I have EIGHT within 2.5 months. Unfortunately we are only batting .500 in the wedding attendance department and will send our love and a fuzzy toilet seat cover in place of our physical beings to some couples. ( I know some folks might prefer that, but if so, keep that sentiment to yourself. )



A huge CONGRATULATIONS to my wonderfully brilliant husband (pictured above demonstrating one of his many skills- battleship driving!) for becoming an official PhD candidate last week! His thesis proposal was accepted. Now all he has to do is write the dissertation. I'm still waiting for his IQ to quadruple, as I hear married couples begin to have the same intelligence quotient, and me being the smart one, he can only benefit from this arrangement. He is c_r_a_z_y.

We think we've found a the perfect home to live in for the next few years. It is on the east side of Austin, and was built in 1931. The landlords are antique dealers and take good care of the place. There is a fantastic backyard for all our keg parties, and a cute front porch for uhh, sitting. The selling point was that the kitchen cabinet count has an n>1! Multiple cabinets!!! The place also comes with a free neutered outdoor kitty. The only drawback is that it is a little bit smaller than what we've got now...



I've squared away my internship for the summer. I'll be working at a place called St. Louise House. It provides transitional housing for homeless women with children. The organization is rooted in a spiritual call to serve the poor, so combined with my soft spot for women and children I think it should be a great fit. I'm very happy for the opportunity.

Off to bed... goodnight!

The Sky is Falling!

So it is 9 am on a Saturday morning. We have been up for almost an hour now. I know, I know, Jeremy and Erin up early on a Saturday?

We have the roofers to thank for that. Stop the incessant banging and pounding! Aaaaahhhhh! For the love of sleep- take the day off!!

Not for those with a weak stomach...

What does Paris Hilton have in common with Mother Teresa? Absolutely nothing.

I was horrified to read that an Indian director by the name of T. Rajeevnath was approaching Paris Hilton (star of House of Wax, the Simple Life, and many other unspeakably horrific and infamous films) to portray Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. I am certain the director is seeking additional publicity by potentially (mis)casting someone famed for her indulgence to play a woman millions find to be the exemplar of selflessness in our world today. (While Paris Hilton may well be a closeted humanitarian and positive role model, her public image is very much the opposite.)

Perhaps I am mistaken, but it would seem Mother Teresa's enormous popularity would fill the seats of many movie theatres if only the director had the courage to respectfully and accurately depict her life's events. Fewer people have ever been more admired and adored than Mother Teresa, and though her fans might not incite angry protests, they could target the entertainment industry where it is the most injurious- at the box office. I am willing to bet that the number of potential movie viewers offended by such a decision would far outnumber those drawn to the film because of the casting choice.

Is the opinion of movie viewers so low that directors feel compelled to make these types of decisions? Do our movie/television choices send a message that thoughtful and moving works of art are no longer welcome? I don't really keep up with the entertainment industry and I'm sure there are many examples of work produced to cater to such crummy tastes, but REALLY?

My apologies for the rant - I just felt compelled to broadcast my disgust to the world and/or all 3 of you reading. :)

Putting food on my family

Learn yourself something good and watch this feature about the greatest speechalist who have ever lived.

A Handy Guide for Renters

I have been wasting inordinate amounts of time on craiglist.com recently. We had great luck with that site when we were home-hunting two years ago. For those of you who are also on a quest to find a decent place to rest your head at night, here are a few tips.

* Smoke detectors are not "features" or "amenities". They are requirements by law.
* "AGGRESSIVE BREEDS WELCOME!" really means "Puncture wounds likely!"
* "Cozy" is synonymous with "shoebox"
* "Cottage" means overpriced
* "CLEAN" is not a feature. Again, it is a requirement.
* "TREE IN FRONT YARD" is not a feature or an amenity
* "Funky!" is a word I use to describe my running shoes and the olives rotting in the fridge. See above picture for further detail.

On a different note, I would like to say to anyone tempted to post links to their online porn site on our blog, I will hunt you down. Or worse, I will spam you with links to MY blog. Hah! That will teach you!

Number 2?

So I was just checking, and it turns out we are currently number TWO on the web. You can sue me for false advertising, but all we've got are unmatched socks and cat poop.

Who knew I cared about George Mason basketball?

With Indiana's loss to Gonzaga, I've had to find other teams to support. Boston College was my team until they were defeated on Friday. And, I guess since I'll (Lord willing) have a degree from Texas, I cheered a little for them.

Since IU, BC, and UT have blown it, I am now out of teams to cheer for. Go George Mason?

2.5 Hours of Sleep = Mandatory Blog Entry

Last night I was up till 5 am with Jerry Falwell.

My religion and policy class is reading a book about the rise of the religious right and so I can tell you everything about the movement. Right after I take a nap. Oh wait, I can't sleep in the library. DARN.

During discussion for this class we tried to think of religious leaders who are on track to become the next Billy Grahams or JP2s. The number of people they have interacted with during the course of their ministries is mind boggling. I realized that statistically, chances are good you might have encountered one or both during your lifetime. Then I realized Jeremy played the steel drums for Billy Graham's grandson's wedding and I met the JP2. Statistics are funny things.

On a different note completely, we are looking for a new place to live. It is overwhelming and "apartment locators" can be sketchy. We tried to use one last time and she wasn't really helpful, but did let us know a billion times she got a $1000 commission if we signed a lease through her company. Were you aware that it is now essential for all college students to have a hot tub in their rental units? This was news to me, but apparently Texans like their hot tubs.

All we really want is a cute house with a yard, deck, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, central air and heat, dishwasher, washer/dryer, garage, and personal chef. And it would be great if it cost $200 a month. And had nice neighbors. And a built in china cabinet.

Must go to sleeeeeeeeeppp........

J-U-I-C-Y

Most of my time is spent on the remote east part of the University of Texas campus. My graduate program is self-contained in the building adjacent to the LBJ Presidential Library. We are in solitary confinement over here, without so much as a coffee stand. I suppose if I became desperate, I could eat one of the LBJ Library collectible spoons, mugs, or tourists. I'm usually good about bringing my own lunch, though.

Given my isolation, it startles me when I do emerge from my isolated liberal think-tank of a world over to west campus. Most notably, the density of sorority girls wearing shorts that say "Juicy" increases exponentially as I journey west to forage. Often I gawk at them as if these indigenous west campus people are new to me. I've seen them before, had classes with them, heck, I've even had one kick me off a treadmill! I just can't stop marveling at their features so very distinct from my own.

Has anyone else noticed that sororities have special t-shirts to commemorate everything? They seem to celebrate their crushes, dad's weekend, mom's weekend, lil' sis weekend, pre-parties for the OU, OSU, A&M homegames as well as their post-game parties. Other shirts include, but are not limited to: homecoming, pledge class, rush, various fund raisers, the flu season, and the day they received their first commemorative t-shirt. Maybe it's just me being grumpy, but that seems like a waste of resources and closet space.

You can imagine my delight when I boarded the bus to find a rather large man proudly wearing a KAPPA DELTA CRUSH 2001 light pink t-shirt. At least it was being put to good use. I only wish he'd had the matching shorts...

I bet God would buy His printer cartridges here...

Check out the above link. Buy stuff from them. It's what Jesus would want.

Thanks for the link, Niq.

Weekend Update

Last Saturday Jeremy and I went to a Darwin Party. What is a Darwin Party? It is what separates us from other twenty somethings. Rather than get all dressed up to go "out" Jeremy and I got dressed up to depict our favorite evolutionary biology concepts. For anyone who cares, I went as an outlier.

Biology parties and the people who attend them are incredibly different from the public affairs (or really any) functions I've attended. For example, one friend wore a fur-lined tiara and had plush-toy microbes (ebola! influenza!) pinned to his red cape. Obviously he was representing the Red Queen Theory. Another friend came dressed as a Soviet police officer and brought his hatchet. At least we didn't worry about party crashers.

A shelf in the lunchroom of Jeremy's lab has a set of umm, bull parts on display in a jar. They are nicely labeled so there is no question as to what the jar contains. Why are they in the lunchroom? I'm not really sure. All I know is that they must appear in the refrigerator of the grad student lounge at the LBJ School before I leave.

Prepare to Cheer! The Marathon is Here!

The Austin Marathon is Sunday morning! It begins at 7 am! This weekend is, as most Austinites will admit, FREEZING COLD. Talk about PERFECT TIMING!

I am ready. I completed my training program yesterday so tomorrow morning should go smoothly!

In our annual tradition, Jeremy and I will participate in the marathon. From our warm bed, that is. After getting up at 11 we will probably get some breakfast tacos and cheer on the crazy fools who have given up their morning to exercise in the cold with 10,000 other crazy fools. My training was complete yesterday after I purchased three boxes of Girl Scout cookies which we will eat in honor of the 2600 calories we are not burning.

Join me in getting a triple thick shake from McDonald's as we toast good health and nutrition!

Deep Thoughts

Not exactly of the Jack Handy kind. Well, not today anyway.

My FIL (or father in law) sent a link to this NPR feature. It is a story about students from his high school in Cleveland who volunteer to serve as pallbearers for those in need. So often we forget the seventh corporal work of mercy, to bury the dead. Perhaps it is because most of us are not near death, or are unsure how to approach that part of life on Earth. I found this story to be extremely touching in large part because these are 14-17 year old volunteers. What a remarkable example for the rest of us.

On a sad note, Jeremy and I said goodbye to Kona on Saturday morning. It was a very difficult thing to do. She experienced another violent seizure, exactly one month to the day (and almost hour) after her first. It lasted about 25 minutes and the vet could not stop it. Even after a battery of tests had been run there was no indication as to the source. She is peacefully napping in the great litter box in the sky now, probably chasing lots of feet and mice. We miss her very much.

Sorry for the glumness. The next post will be more cheerful, hopefully.

Moon Pie!

Check out this article. (click on MOON PIE!)

In honor of the season please share with us the strangest thing you've ever caught at a Mardi Gras parade.

If you haven't been to one, call my parents. I know they would love to host a whole mess of people for the next three weeks. Better yet, don't call them, but just show up! If you tell them I sent you, you get the discount.

Ok people, post some strange catches.

You say tomato...

We've just started our Salsa dancing classes. They were partly inspired by the movie Mad Hot Ballroom, and partly the result of not being able to dance. We have quite a few weddings to crash in the next few months so we plan to use our newly acquired skills to catch the eye(s) of all guests, and then put them in our pockets. Jeremy and I will be the people Salsa dancing to every single song.

The class has about 52 people in it, and I have to say it was a little traumatic. The dancing component went just fine, but we had to line up with girls on one side and boys on the other (much like ballroom in the 6th grade). We spent the lesson dancing with random people instead of the person with whom we registered. From a social standpoint I suppose it's good to meet new people, but since neither Jeremy nor I are in the market for additional love interests at this time, I give this aspect a thumbs down. Furthermore, I have a tendency to burst into wild giggles which is not so good for the stranger's self esteem. Jeremy is used to my oddities and properly trained for responding to such an emergency.

With about ten minutes left in the class I realized the woman Jeremy was dancing with had on a shirt reading, "You say tomato, I say &*^% you!" I am not sure any other piece of clothing could say "nice to meet you, but you better not step on my toes" so succinctly.

Next time you see us, we will not be the same Jeremy & Erin you've come to know, instead, our salsification will have morphed us into "Rees & Nina" (pictured above).

Only the best blog entry EVER.

If you know us at all you know that Jeremy and I are unbelievable enablers when it comes to children. "Discipline - what's that?" "Did that kid just belch? AWESOME!" The two of us are highly amused by children and Susanna's most recent blog only serves to reinforce this. (I know that when we have our 15 children they will resemble Fred & George Weasley. We are doomed.)

Oh, and I rode the bus with a Confederate Soldier today. AGAIN.

The End of an Era

Miss America is on (gasp!) CMT tonight. To all my fellow poor people without access to cable: pull yourselves together! Get up off the floor out of my, uhh, your puddle of tears. If I can make it through this difficult time you can too! As I am no longer eligible to compete as Miss South Dakota, which was truly my life's ambition, it is a little less fun to watch the pageant anyway. I think this might be the first year in a while that I've not known one of the contestants because all my friends are now geriatric. Just kidding, friends. Fortunately I can still go to the Miss America website and read the bios of all 51 contestants, print them out, and pretend they are all my friends. My favorite is Miss Texas. And not because I currently live in Texas, but because, well, she is my age and uhh, just check her out.

It is probably better for me not to watch the pageant because I just say mean things like, "wow, how much duct tape did she need to hold THOSE up?" and "do you think she is using rubber cement to keep her bottom THERE?" I do enjoy learning about the wonderful charities with cute names that each woman has founded. For example: "Kidz Kount: Promoting Children's Literacy" or "M.A.C.K. - Making a Commitment to Kids" (which I like because it was founded by someone named MACKenzie. Honestly, isn't the whole point of a charity NOT to call attention to how awesome you yourself are?)

If you have endured my entry this far I want you to play a fun game. If you were, say, Miss Idaho, what would your platform or charity be?

I have included a picture that is timely in its celebration of the UT National Football Championship as well as the celebration of blond cheerleaders and possible pageant gals nationwide.



May the best bikini-clad pre-med juggler win!

The Shat Heard Round the World

At 9:53 this morning, Kona used the litterbox.

This is a really good thing.

Welcome Home Kona! And oh yeah, classes just started again.

Kona and I are writing you all to say thanks for your thoughts. We are currently curled up on the floor next to one another and honestly, I am not sure who is more relieved she is home. Not that I am biased or anything, but I think the nursing staff and doctors were big Kona fans and I might be wrong, but the nurse seemed sad I was taking the world's co-cutest kitty home.

UT started classes again today. I am taking a course about religion and public policy. We will discuss everything from faith-based initiatives to the teaching of evolution in schools. Everyone teaches one class so I've got to pick a topic that involves religion and public policy. So many options! Right now I'm thinking I will look at the impact of federal money on social service programs- specifically those that respond to basic needs like food and shelter.

My other courses are related to managing public finances and data analysis. I solemnly swear not to expound on either one.

Jeremy and I begin our Salsa dancing lessons soon. I am very excited! Austin is such a fantastic place for dancing to great music, and since the bars are now smoke free we will actually have a reason to go! I will also be taking tap dancing with quite a few of the staff members from St. Austin's. How funny is that? Erin and the tap dancing nuns/priests.

My wonderful husband is almost done with dinner. Mmm, fajitas.

Until next time!

Aaah, Saturday

It is with tremendous relief that we can say Kona is much healthier now. While she is still receiving supportive care from the animal hospital she is now eating, drinking, grooming, and almost doing her duty in the litter box. (As a certain person with the initials GK would say, she is "dropping the deuce!") We are still waiting for test results but the vet thinks she has toxoplasmosis and NOT a brain tumor. We visited her yesterday and the little cutie was actually purring and meowing while she nuzzled us. Interestingly, her horrible ear infection didn't infect her inner ear, and the seizing was probably unrelated.

For all pet owners out there, we wish we had pet insurance. I am a cheapskate, and scoff at such attempts to suck money from you by convincing folks that they need unnecessary things, but man, you better believe we are looking into it now.

I'm so excited about the prospect of her coming home, I might do Karate for Christ!

Get Well Soon, Kona!

Jeremy and I returned to Austin and our favorite kitties on Monday.

Unfortunately, (or fortunately) Kona began having very scary seizures while I was home for lunch yesterday. The poor thing was in awful shape, but I am really glad it happened while I was at home with her. After rushing to the animal hospital she was sedated and given fluids. Our initial thought was that we have an epileptic kitty.

As it turns out, she had horrible ear mites and a bacterial and fungal infection that may have spread to her inner ear. This is really worrisome for us because she has been into the vet four times in a year and half for checkups and various tests. Ear problems were never mentioned by the doc.

She is undergoing some heavy duty care right now and had to be knocked out with anesthesia. We can't wait for her to come home very soon! We miss our Kona :(

Fairy Dust & Machine Guns

We just returned from a great trip to Disney World. It was wonderful to spend time with our family and our favorite stilty lizard, Chasity McDougal (name was changed to protect the magic that comes with being a disney character). Here is a picture of our buddy on the move:






Jeremy and I agree that Christopher Guest & Co. should film a movie about a family trip to Orlando. Included in the feature film would be the following:

- a family of five wearing matching "Gonzalez Family Vacation 2006" sweat shirts

- 5.6 billion children expressing profound gratitude to their parents for the lovely vacation by screaming, crying, kicking, and biting their way through all four parks (this is so much FUN!! BUY ME AN ICE CREAM.. NOW!!)

- at least one man who insists on using binoculars to examine all performers from a distance of eight feet or less

- plenty of machine gun pendants nestled in the chest-hair of dads (like this, but with red, white, and blue jewels)



This trip was especially fun because we breezed on to most rides AND we were the lead float in Mickey's Jingle Jangle Jungle Parade! (Chasity McDougal and her good friend Crumpet get our votes for entertainers of the year for making that happen.)



Our friends John & Melissa were in town for the Disney Marathon so we also got to visit with them before heading home!