Camping

The average temperature for our camping adventure was upper-30s with a lower 30s wind chill. Yikes.

By the time that Josh, Amy & I arrived, Christine already had the tent up for us girls and dinner mostly finished. That's my kind of camping! I definitely win the "Most Useless" award for the weekend since this was the second time camping in my life. Christine won the "Camp Expert" award and the others fell somewhere in between. :) Here are some highlights:

Making a decision

My friend, Sallie, is a genius.

I have come to this conclusion because I have been trying to find direction in making a major decision lately, and Sallie pointed the way. She told me to write out my values. Simple.

So I did, and lo & behold, it worked! A clear decision hasn't exactly been made, but I definitely found out what NOT to do. Which is still extremely helpful.

Then, God in his graciousness, spoke to my concrete-oriented mind in a concrete way. The conviction that one of my choices was extremely selfish and worldly was confirmed through his Word. "For the Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

I am just grateful today for the obvious work of God in my life and wanted to share it. :)
Have a God-filled day!

Great Reasons

"Great Reasons" experienced this week:

A great reason to be single on Valentine's Day:
Everyone thinks you won't get anything, so you get something from everyone! (My desk is covered in flowers!)

A great reason to live with Grandma:
A homemade cookie in the cookie jar everyday.

A great reason to get up on Thursdays:
My Favorite "Cinnamon Coffee" Muffin and great conversation with KatyO.

A great reason to have a weekend:
Camping in Goliad, TX with friends. (Pictures forthcoming next week.)

A great reason to work out at Reaction Fitness:
If you have your own headphones, you just plug in and run to Seinfeld reruns.

A great reason to study:
You don't look like an idiot...hopefully.

A great reason to check your pockets before sticking something in the washer:
You don't end up with pink underwear and socks (never happened).

A great reason to have a cat:
It wakes you up for work when you woke up in the middle of the night and subconsciously turned off your alarm.

And a serious one to end the schpeel...
A great reason to be honest:
People trust you.

Tag...you're it!

I got this thing from Kari (see blog link to right) and decided to participate:

4 Jobs I've had:
1. Waitress
2. Volunteer coordinator in Mali & Cote d'Ivoire
3. Media strategist in Senegal
4. Higher education administrator in Texas

4 Songs I'd listen to on repeat:
1. "Redeemer" by Nicole C. Mullen
2. "Beautiful" One by By the Tree
3. "Magnificent Obsession" by who knows?
4. anything Britney Spears...just kidding...anything Sara Evans

4 Languages I'd like to speak:
1. Spanish
2. French (speak well)
3. Italian (how hot would that be?)
4. Chinese
Note: I'd also like a cool accent...maybe British or Canadian?

4 Vacation spots we'd like to hit:
Well I hit 2 in the last 2 months (France & Seattle), but...
1. Australia
2. Senegal
3. New Zealand
4. England (I need more than a 6 hour layover)

4 Websites I visit daily:
1. Masson blog (no, I'm not kissing up)
2. My online class
3. Yahoo mail
4. Used to do CNN...should start that again

4 Foods I lust after:
1. That molten lava cake at Chili's
2. French fries
3. Everything but the... ice cream from Ben & Jerry's
4. Dipping #2 into #3

4 Changes I'd make to the apartment:
Note: I live at my grandmother's house right now, so...
1. New furniture
2. New wallpaper
3. New carpet
4. Throw out anything over 5 years old, and start from scratch.
5. (Yes, I'm allowing a #5) New apartment

4 Tags:
1. Marcy, who I've never actually met but seems we should have by now
2. Angie, who was in Peru but is now settling into life in America
3. Maggie, friend in Senegal
4. Anyone who's reading this and hasn't done it (then let me know you did)

The Pacific Northwest

This past weekend, I went to Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon with Chrissy & Christine. My primary purpose was to check out the University of Washington's doctoral program in higher education. Chrissy also wanted to check out the nursing program at UW, and Christine just needed to get out of Corpus after being stuck there for over 6 months! So off we went and it was fantastic. Here's a bit of a re-cap:


We accidentally located the original Starbucks on the Waterfront in Seattle first time out. It looked nothing like any other Starbucks, which made it really fun!


Famous entrance to Pike's Place Public Market


City Fish is a famous spot...when the fish come in, the guys throw them around. We're talking about huge fish here--the one in this picture is one of the smaller ones!


Chrissy's shopping...I think this is one of the biggest and oldest farmers markets in the country. At any rate, it was the biggest one I've been to--everything you can imagine was sold here!


In a scene in Sleepless in Seattle (one of my favorites), Tom Hanks (another favorite) ate at this cafe...had to take a picture with Tom!


Seattle skyline, as seen from the ferry to Bainbridge Island. Bainbridge is this tiny island about 30 minutes by ferry from Seattle. Loads of people (and I mean loads, this ferry was bigger than Titanic) commute to Seattle everyday. The island was very quaint, with small shops and really classy neighborhoods.


Dinner at Ghandi Indian restaurant on Bainbridge Island. (Honestly, it was the only restaurant open besides a shady looking diner--it seemed the town went to sleep around 6 p.m.) We took advantage of the cultural diversity by eating at various ethnic restaurants. Friday we had Russian and Indian, followed by French and Chinese on Saturday. In Portland, we went to a Cuban restaurant. We soothed our tummies with good ol' Subway. :)


Christine having coffee at Zeitgeist Art & Coffee, one of Seattle's million coffee shops.


Visit to the University of Washington, a beautiful, world-renowned institution. It was amazing!


King Street train station in Seattle, where we caught a train (that's right, a train--so fun) to Portland, OR to visit Chrissy's college friends


Imago Dei (Latin for "Image of God") is the home church of one of my favorite authors, Donald Miller (Blue Like Jazz, Searching for God Knows What, and Through Painted Deserts), located in Portland, OR so we went on Sunday


Lunch at Pambiche Cuban Restaurant clockwise- me, Christine, Shawna, Amanda, Sarah, Chrissy

Bubble Girl

After running 100+ tests at the allergist, I found out I'm RED PRINT (aka very severely) allergic to the following:

Cats
House dust
Dust-mites
Molds
Trees
Grasses
Weeds
Shrimp
Crab
Oyster
Garlic

I should not have indoor pets with fur or feathers and should avoid whenever possible:
Feather pillows
Tobacco and tobacco smoke (darn, I'll have to quit that 3 pack a day habit)
Insecticides with pyrethum (huh?)
Chemical fumes (no household cleaning products, goody!)
Exposure to scented perfumes and colognes (I'll be au natural from now on)
Aerosol products (no more Rave hairspray, good thing it's not the 80s anymore)
Regular cosmetics (I have to spend the big bucks on Clinique now)

Just call me Bubble Girl. I will never go out again.
I'm just happy I'm NOT allergic to:
1. My grandma.
2. Friends re-runs.
3. Dessert.
4. Muffins.
5. My friends (this is in no particular order by the way)
6. Foreign countries.
7. Babies.
8. Hot guys (although history might indicate otherwise)
9. Email.
10. Love.

2005--Pegs' Year In Pictures

Unfortunately, the Year in Pictures must begin with March b/c I don't have digital pics from January or February. Here's a sum-up of 2005!


Deborah, my friend since 6th grade, had her second baby, Alyssa, during Spring Break


Amy married Josh, and became Mrs. Amy Byrd on March 6th


Grandma celebrated her 84th birthday on April 6th


Missing sharing my birthday by only one day, my second cousin Lacey entered the world May 6th (I'm just noticing the 6th of each month was pretty eventful)


I returned to Senegal for 10 days and was reunited with my twins and Patricia, among others...I arrived in Senegal on (you guessed it) June 6th


5 years and 7 months after it began, I welcomed myself into the 21st century in July with a flip phone and my grandmother also joined me with a shared line


The annual trip to the condo in August


Tara's baby shower in August...Brooklyn joined the world in October (Anyone noticing the recurring wedding & baby themes?)


No better way to spend Labor Day in Corpus than at the Texas State Aquarium with Katy, Caitlyn and Sallie


In October, 6 months into marriage, Amy had settled nicely into domesticated duties and shared with all of us


On November 3rd, my supervisor, Linn retired after 10 years at SOCS and about 40 years in the ministry. Tony was voted in the same day


Thanksgiving at Grandma's


December 11--Reunited with my roommate in Mali & Ivory Coast, Robin, and meeting her mom in Norman, Oklahoma


December 15-22--a fabulous trip to France to be reunited with my roommate in Senegal, Kari, and her husband (another friend from Senegal) Jonathan

I'll ring in the New Year tonight with friends at the Surf Club in Corpus. Hope all of you have a fantastic 2006!

I saw London, I saw France, I saw...

Well, I didn't see anyone's underpants, but I did see London & France last week! (Hopefully you know the old nursery rhyme or that comment seems quite inappropriate.)

The intent of my adventure to Europe was to visit Jonathan & Kari, fellow journeymen in Senegal, where they now live in Lyon, France. However, the cheapest itinerary also involved a long layover in London. My friend Amy lives outside London and took the train in to be my personal tour guide for the half-day. Here are some highlights of London:


Amy and I in front of Big Ben


Covent Garden, a quaint spot to shop, eat, and be merry


View of the London Eye from where we exited the "tube" (subway)...apparently, the London Eye is this ferris wheel-type thing where people actually get married. It's also the highest view in England.


Picadilly Circus, that intersection you always see in movies


Subway, my favorite fast food restaurant, is worldwide and I didn't know it! I really could live in London...


Westminster Abbey

And Lyon highlights:


Place Bellecour, in the center of Lyon


The temp hovered around 33-35 degrees most of the week, and we walked everywhere!


For the second year in a row, I was with Kari to make Christmas cookies


The Saone and Rhone rivers meet in Lyon...here is the Cote de Rhone (I think)


I am all about the food when I travel to new places. I had at least one French pastry every day I was there. I also had a crepe avec jambon et fromage (ham & cheese crepe) while there.


The wine shope we visited, Dit'Vin, was incredible. Nicolas, the owner, discussed the different types with us and even offered us Christmas wine!


When we weren't walking, we took the metro or buses. It was quite a complicated system!


Murals on the sides of buildings...Kari said this was "very Lyon"


Amazingly, my favorite street in Lyon is called "Rue de Boeuf"...that's Beef Street


When we stopped at the old Roman theater (although Lenny Kravitz had a concert there earlier this year), Kari and I couldn't resist "performing"

All in all, a fabulous trip!

Friends Holidays

At Thanksgiving, somehow I found myself in charge of the main entree, le jambon. The ham actually turned out great, especially considering I ventured out and altered the ham glaze recipe...if you're that curious, it's canned crushed pineapple, honey and brown sugar. Yum!


I also contributed to the festivities with wassail, that tasty holiday tea...recipe courtesy of Patty McIntire in Senegal (thanks, Patty!)




Chrissy, me, and Christine enjoy Turkey (or Ham) Day

Today, Amy invited us over for our Christmas celebration before things get crazy for the holidays. It was nice to have our main cook back in the kitchen! Ames made tortilla soup for the occasion.


And Josh was a good sport once again at putting up with all the women invading his house! He even tried on the top I gave Amy for Christmas...

Weather report

Well, God is preparing me for European temperatures next week...South Texas received an "Arctic cold front" last night so that the temp dove to 34 degrees with a 22 degree wind chill. That, mes amies, is more than 30 degrees below normal. Wow.

Next week at this time, I will be en route to Lyon, France to visit Jonathan and Kari! It will be almost a year to the day of my last time with them at their wedding in Marietta, Georgia. I am too excited!


Kari and I at her bachelorette party a year ago

Incredibly, the cheapest ticket to France involves a 9 hour layover in London, and my friend Amy, who lives in England, has graciously agreed to come in town and be my tour guide for a few hours. I am indeed blessed!

Of course between now and next Thursday, there are a million things to do and of course, a big Walmart run for all of J&K's special American requests! :)

Personality Type

I just took a variation on the Myers-Briggs personality test, and it was the same result as when I came back from Africa. I am an ISTJ...that's introverted, sensing, thinking, judging type.

Supposedly, that means I am "superdependable" and characterized by decisiveness with a distaste for and distrust of fanciness in speech, dress, and living. Their words are simple and down-to-earth, home environments are usually neat, orderly, and traditional, rather than up-to-date and luxurious. Price and durability are just as important as comfort or appearance.

I.E. BORING! Good grief...and fairly accurate which makes it even worse.

More to come on my Thanksgiving...I haven't had a chance to upload the pictures yet...

Retirement...

No, not my retirement...my current supervisor, Linn, and his wife, Betty, are retiring at the end of December. Tony Celelli is going to be our new President and my new boss, effective s-o-o-n. And so yesterday, we had a par-tay...out with the old, in with the new! Well, we weren't quite that brash about it, but we did have a fun time celebrating the last 10 years of Linn's work and celebrating Tony's future with us. So, without further, adieu, one last photo of the staff as they were...


L-R: Jay, me, Anson, Betty, Linn, Deanne, Tony

Please take note of the new 'do. First time I've had bangs since high school...wowsers.