Lucky you. Two posts in one day, get ready...

To start things off, some random updates from the big city:

*Working from home has been nice. It's hard to beat going to work in your sweats and not having to commute anywhere. I'm sure it won't last forever, but for now, it's been enjoyable.

*I've started running again, and it's about time! I am becoming 'one' with my new orthotics and hoping that they will continue to help me out. I have relays and marathons to train for, no more of this sitting around junk, dangit.

*I have become fully immersed in the World Cup. There are some good matches coming up this weekend for the Semi-finals. The thing I love most about soccer is that it is the one sport I can watch for hours on end and understand everything that's going on (besides maybe golf or track). I just can't get excited about football or basketball season, but futbol... oh yeah.

*We've had quite a bit of rain in Dallas this week and loving every bit of it. Cooler temps and a great reminder of God's provision and renewal.

*I am once again working from Panera and there are two ladies at the table next to me that are practicing their French. It's pretty impressive and sounds really cool. Makes me want to backpack across Europe.

*Two of my friends bought houses this week and one got a new job. It got me thinking that maybe it's time for a big change in my life. It most certainly won't be the purchase of a new house, but it could be a different job. Who knows. I'm taking suggestions on what I should be when I grow up.

*I have added a new book to my all time Top 10 list, maybe even the Top 5. Pretty big. Pick up Donald Miller's A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. It's brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I'm 3/4 through it and already want to go back and re-read it. I'll put some quotes up here when I finish it. Did I mention that it's brilliant?

*I came across this video yesterday and though it was cool enough to share. It's an added bonus that the entire video is made out of felt. If nothing else, you gotta be impressed by that. Check it out:

New favorite music selection: Requiem for a Tower. Brownie points to anyone who can name at least one movie trailer it's been used in. Apparently it's an adaptation of the similar piece, Requiem for a Dream. There is also a movie with that same title of which IMDb gives this summary: "The hopes and dreams of four ambitious people are shattered when their drug addictions begin spiraling out of control." Stellar. Me, I just like the music. (Although a requiem is apparently a mass for the dead. Perhaps composers should stick with "Untitled #347" like artists commonly name their pieces...)

Here's Requiem for a Dream on piano. If I knew how to play piano, I would learn this. (Too bad I abandoned ship after about 2 lessons, huh Mom?!)



2 minute break over. More relevant updates coming this weekend.

Ponder this today: Caterpillars have over 228 muscles in their heads alone.

Passport.
VISA.
Plane ticket.
Shots.
Mosquito net.

Check. Five weeks from today, our group of 12 will have left DFW, bound for Ghana, Africa. I could not be more excited! All the final preparations are being made for out trip. Art supplies are being collected, sports equipment is being rounded up, and we are planning all the last minute details for the journey.

It occurred to me that I've failed to post the new Mercy Project logo. So here is the final product. Click for a larger image.

That being said, this week we are taking orders for Mercy Project t-shirts. They are $15 each, including shipping to anywhere in the US. Our goal is to have 100 pre-ordered by the end of the week, and we're about halfway there. If you'd like to purchase a shirt, you can email sizes and quantity to mercyproject@yahoo.com or comment here and I'll pass the info along. These are going to the printer next week, so don't miss out! The shirts are navy with white ink and will look like this:


Cheers!

A little flashback for the evening. Any guesses from the title? (Counting on you, DM, to remember...)

Today was long. Today was one of those days where every little slightly frustrating thing slowly grated on my nerves and turned into a bit of a snowball. By 5:00 I was just annoyed with the world and annoyed with my attitude about the world. So I went to the gym, watched some World Cup highlights, and came home and started cooking dinner. Cornbread, wild pig sausage, and strawberries. Yum... It was then that the flashback hit me:

The Brain: Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?
Pinky: Well, I think so Brain, but if we didn't have ears, we'd look like weasels.

LOVED this show! I always hated that it was a short spin-off and the dumb Animaniacs got all the air time. But, I like to think the lab mice held their own for awhile. 6 seasons I think? Anyway, it just always cracked me up. And I gotta hand it to Brain. He has some serious persistence. For every failure, he comes back with yet another stellar plan.

The Brain: Quiet Pinky, I'm getting ready for tomorrow night.
Pinky: Why? What are we going to do tomorrow night?
The Brain: [Irritated] Guess!
Pinky: Oh, try to take over the world, right.

So today = fail. But tomorrow? Tomorrow we will take over the world.

I spent most of the weekend out at Camp Constantin with Amber as an "honorary staff member/scout", which translated to me getting to hang out at Possum Kingdom lake, help around the camp office a bit, enjoy a late night campfire, swim, meet some cool people, and GO SAILING!

Sailing has been on my bucket list for awhile now, so I jumped at the opportunity to go to camp with Amber and go out on a boat. I was thinking something along the lines of this catamaran:


Well, Perry (Amber's friend/Mr. Aquatics Director/Expert Sailor) decided we should take out a Sunfish. Um... that's like really small...

But it was awesome! Amber captured a few shots of the endeavor. Here are the boats lined up ready to go out on the lake.

Getting the sail ready.

Sail is up, and Perry is giving me instructions mixed with boat terminology that I forgot within 5 minutes.

This is the part where we flipped over. It was super, super windy. Not the ideal weather for sailing. I slid right off the top of the boat, but I think Perry tried to save us...

Eh, not happening!

But due to my brute strength, we righted the boat...

...and got back in the saddle.

And we're off again. I learned to navigate with the Main Sheet (rope that controls the Main Sail) while Perry manned the rudder. Actually, he maneuvered both on quite a few occasions! It seriously takes some mad skills to sail by yourself in one of these.

Here we are way out on the lake. Our 30 minute trip lasted a good hour and a half because we kept getting stuck "in irons", facing directly into the wind and unable to catch enough momentum to turn. Since the wind kept gusting, it was a difficult position to recover from, and we spent some time drifting. But once we caught the wind, wow, those Sunfish can fly! So much fun.


I'm quite certain that I didn't earn my Small Boat Sailing Merit Badge, but I like to think I somewhat got the hang of it. Regardless, it was awesome. And I'd like a Sunfish for my birthday to be able to take out on White Rock. They're around $4,000. Ha!

Finally sorted through pictures from the trip to Canyon last weekend. Here are a few 'ranch' shots for your viewing pleasure. (click on the pics to view larger)

Country Casa
Jesse minding her manners.
Campfire in the mini-Gila.
Wyatt Cody: Don't be fooled, he did NOT want Pa turning on that tractor!
Me and Shorty
Joe not sure what to think about the camera.
Favorite shot: Not a huge vignette fan, but some pictures just lend themselves to it.
'Frisbone', as we like to call it.
And finally, pretty hard to beat the scenery, at least in Texas.