The title? Well, I might've watched an episode of Rainbow Brite that I found recorded on an old VHS from back in the day. There might've also been one Strawberry Shortcake and a few Carebears involved, but I shall not reveal any further information...

I've been laptop and software searching for the last two days. Brutal, at best. I think I have the laptop picked out, but the software is another story. Let me know if you have any thoughts on finding CS3 or getting CS4 for much cheaper than Apple offers. The academic versions are a no-go.

Big weekend, this last one. DonMark and I 'competed' in the Red Dirt Challenge in Abilene. By 'competed' I'm gonna go with 'made an appearance and muddled through the wind and mismarked course'. We're still not sure what happened to the other teams in our heat, but I assure you, we kicked tail in the 67 cent challenge! Enjoyed getting to hang out with the two coolest kids in the world! Mom and Dad came down as well and we had some good family time.

Church on Sunday was amazing! More on that in the next post...

Big news at apartment 1128: our good friend Rachel will be moving in to take Kathleen's spot on the 10th. We're quite excited she has decided to put up with us!

And finally, I am scheduled to do a little face painting at the WR Arts Festival on Saturday. If you're interested in a ladybug, caterpillar, or colored blob on your cheek, stop on by. Tips accepted.

A few pics from the weekend:

Emme and her pal Jesse


Wyatt's new swim goggles


Helping out with snack time


Family line-up... (sweet shirt, Dad!)


Nickson + 1 Reid cheering squad... Mom was sprinting around somewhere


Canoe leg


And yes, that is me running to the finish line in my bike helmet. That act alone shaved precious seconds off our finish time. Take one for the team I say...

"Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." Malachi 3:10

I was told yesterday by someone who I only talk to on occasion that I am stuck in a rut. Is it that obvious? Ok... fine. I'm stuck.

So I wake up. I fill my day with sending resumes and portfolio samples to unknown people at unknown places that I probably wouldn't want to work for in the first place. I workout. Read. Snack on lots of fruit. I make lists and cross things out so that I can feel small accomplishments. I research artists and website building and talk to people about things that I wish I could do if only I could figure out how to get from point A to point B. I wonder at what point lack of income catches up with outgoing financial responsibilities. I sort through pictures wishing I was instead out taking some. I refresh my email page a good 50 times a day, hoping for opportunities to materialize before my very eyes. I discuss with Dad all the things we'll do with the money from our winning lottery ticket. Wash, rinse, repeat. Can we say R.U.T.?

But today. Today has been good.

I planned a potential road trip for later in the summer.
I bought canvases on sale at half price. 3 of them.
I talked to good sources about laptops and software.
I answered questions on church and belief and authentic community.
(see future post)
I made specific plans to encourage and help some people out.

I read an awesome chapter in Crazy Love that talked about how we are so focused on OUR lives. How worry and stress reek of arrogance. How those things convey that we are more important than God. God created, directed, chose, sought, healed, taught, loved, died, rose, and reigns. Who are we to live as though life is about us? We need to get over ourselves and make much of our God! Ahh... so true to life right now.

Finally,
I spent $2.87 on a cup of coffee with a friend and got more fired up about life and possibilities than I have been in a long time. God continues to prove his goodness.

Here are a few pics from the wedding this past weekend. Most are courtesy of Sarah and Rachel, since I took a grand total of 6 shots!

Bethany, Sarah, me, Kathleen, Jaci, and Jenna at rehearsal dinner... after we got stranded at Shiver's in the pouring rain 45 minutes before rehearsal started...


Ready to go!


Reception area that we decorated Friday...


Introducing the Lees...


Rachel, Stephanie, Chad, me, and Amber at the reception...


Cake time...


Roomies, except not anymore...


The getaway...

Sometimes I do my best thinking at night. Maybe that's become more apparent lately as hours on the clock have grown to be a relative distinguishment of time. Regardless, here I am sitting at the computer for yet a little while longer today (working on setting a world record), having just polished off two cups of coffee at 11:49. Contrary to popular tendencies, caffeine rarely has the 'keep one awake' affect on me. I think I bypassed that phase in college at some point and have never looked back.

I've begun brainstorming for a new collage painting, two in fact. Not sure how soon those will be fleshed out, but hey, it's a start. If I used my time wisely, I might could see some quick manifestation of sorts, but if the last few weeks are any indication of time management, don't expect that miracle. Also, the extra-bedroom-turned-painting-studio idea may not happen, so I'll have to seek an alternate area to inflict my messiness on. Now seeking inspiration to get that ball rolling.

Watched the Boston Marathon this morning, or rather listened to it as my computer wasn't quite fast enough to keep the video up with the commentator. (In the market for a laptop, know of any good deals? Mac, of course...) Always inspiring to hear the stories and cheer on the favorites. The women's race was unbelievably close, coming down to mere steps at the finish. Unreal what the human body is capable of achieving,

There's this girl in our apartment complex, Chinese I think, who I always see out walking her little trot line bait fuzzball. I passed them the other day as she rambled on and on to the pooch in a language far too complex to comprehend. Got me wondering... Do animals understand different languages? I mean, I know some dogs (of the Shepard variety) that are too smart for their own good and I know they understand their owners to a certain degree. But if someone gave them a command in another language I'm not convinced they would get it. And vice verse? Do animals raised in another country only know the dialect they hear or do they universally comprehend all languages? Deep thoughts, I know. I may have to seek out Cesar on this one.

Back to that time management issue... I think I may institute a schedule of sorts for my weekday hours. I seem to be really good at getting to the end of the day to find that I could not list the accomplishment of anything productive if my life depended on it. So here's what I'm thinking, in no particular order: 1 hour workout, 2-3 hours job searching, 1 hour reading/quiet time/journaling, 1-2 hours working on new creative ventures, 1 hour getting things done that I normally would not do (cleaning out the garage, etc.), and 1 hour online training tutorials on web site building. Am I missing anything? Has potential; I just may give it a shot.

Current reading material? Adam, by Ted Dekker. Crazy Love, by Francis Chan, and a follow-up devotional of sorts to Under the Overpass, by Yankowski. All good so far. The chapter I read today in the Yankowski book listed the typical roles that Jesus played: traveling evangelist, teacher, healer, storyteller, son and brother, mentor, weather controller, physician. Followed by asking, What are our daily roles and would it be an embarrassment if they collided? Impatient supermarket shopper or road-rage driver meets follower of Christ. Hurried multi-tasker meets seeker of quiet time with God. Hmmm...

It has now come to my attention that it's 12:44, and I may be regretting this in the morning when my alarm blares at me to attempt that regimented schedule of sorts. In that case, I better sign off and get in one more chapter...

At long last, documentation that this event did indeed occur...

Last year 6 of us took on the 3P Challenge, an adventure race up in Denton comprised of 3.8 miles canoeing (paddle), 2.5 miles running (pound), and 12 miles biking (pedal). We camped the night before the race and enjoyed it so much that we had to return this year for another round. Some noteworthy mentionings:

My friend Chad and I entered the 2 person co-ed division, wanting to attempt to race the entire course. Forget that 6-man stuff... The 'Green Banditos' came in 6th out of 20 teams in our division, finishing right at 3 hours, and we had the fastest running split. Not too shabby, all things considered. Much fun was had; I couldn't have asked for a more encouraging, patient, and optimistic teammate.

A bit of insanity entered the picture by way of Friday night's cold front. Wind, freezing temperatures, and more wind. Certainly one of the coldest nights I've ever spent camping – I'm firmly convinced that Amber's box of handwarmers was the only thing that saved us from frostbite. We slept only a few hours before heading to the race check-in by 6 AM... and then it started snowing. That's right, snow. From 6:00-7:30, we weathered the blizzard conditions as we set up our transition area and then rode a bus up to the canoe launch start. By 7:45, the Green Banditos were headed downriver, dodging logs and overhead branches, low spots, and a screaming lady that turned her canoe over. I might've been screaming too...

We actually warmed up pretty quickly, but upon completion of the canoe leg, we had to disembark in knee-deep icy water. Swapped shoes in the transition area and took off on the short running leg. Let me tell ya, it's a really weird feeling trying to run on gravel with completely numb legs from the knee down. Neither one of us could feel our legs at all! I think that's about the time we heard other racers commenting on the people sitting in the ambulance with hypothermia...

But we endured and hit our transition point one last time to pick up our bikes and helmets. The bike trail was certainly my weakest point, as I knew it would be. But Chad graciously put up with my lagging behind, and we made it through at last. Yet another testament that crossing a finish line is one of the best feelings in the world...

Though I admit it was a completely miserable night/morning, I also must confess that it was a lot of fun once we started racing. The physical challenge of going from one leg to the next was quite different than I'm used to, but one I would certainly attempt again. And to top it all off... we received a package of Morrison's Corn Bread Mix in our race packets... which I cooked with dinner tonight. Tasty!

Getting ready to go...

Snow!

Pick a canoe, any canoe...

And we're off! (That would be us on the right.)

Down the river...

Canoe finish area...

Transition #1...

Out for a jog...

Smile as if it were 75º outside!

Face of the day...

Bike time...

Finish line!

Two tired Green Banditos.


(A special thanks goes out to Amber & Kathleen - our weather-braving friends and photographers, Travis - camper extraordinaire and bearer of the Twinkies at the finish line, and Matt & Hans - fellow racers and firewood kings.)

I went to the library yesterday for the first time in months. I have to restrict myself from going regularly and when I do go, there is an enforced time limit! Lame, I know, but I blame an early exposure to Little Critter books, Richard Scary, and the like. When I first moved to the Dallas area, I went all the time to use the computers there (in the dark ages when I didn't have internet access anywhere else). I will painstakingly admit that I am a card-carrying member of the Dallas, Richardson, and Irving Public Libraries. Need help with that Dewey Decimal System? I'm your lifeline. Speaking of dark ages...

So I'm leaving town for the rest of the week and decided to allow myself to stock up on reading/listening material for the journey. After my designated hour of searching for quality pages, I came away with 5 books (after making myself put 6 back), 7 cds, and 4 movies (think RedBox is cheap? check your local library!). A good haul. The man who checked me out: "Would you like a bag to carry all that in?" Me, mumbling under my breath: "Yes sir, that would be great..."

********

So what else is going on... job hunting continues, enjoyed listening to a friend play at an Open Mic Night at a coffee shop downtown last night, last minute plans for Kathleen's wedding on the 18th, researching laptops and design software... things of that nature.

The 3P Race pics are still forthcoming. I inquired about them yesterday and was told that half were uploaded. I checked the link and there were over 900 shots up. So... it'll take some time to go through and find the good ones with our team tearing it up. I'm still confident my patience will be rewarded and hopefully the next post or two will include the documentation of that cold, cold morning.

Best of luck at those Easter egg hunts. Me? I'll just settle for a chocolate bunny.