celebrate my drive--help my school win $25,000 or $100,000

Much of my life has revolved around Nebraska Christian Schools. First, I was an NC student (grades K-12!). I even lived on campus for six years during elementary school, as my parents were the boys' dorm parents. Then, after graduating from college, I got a job at NC as the superintendent's secretary. Nine years later, I'm still at Nebraska Christian, though my role has changed many times! Nebraska Christian is a special place to me, and I hope that if God blesses me with children, they will be able to attend NC, as well.

As a small Christian school in a farming community, Nebraska Christian's finances are often tight. One area where we seem to be perpetually "behind" is technology. Sure, things are better than they were when I was in high school, but if you saw our computer lab, you'd probably laugh. Or cry.

That's where State Farm's Celebrate My Drive comes in. This program, which promotes safe driving, is also a competition between schools. We are competing with schools with student bodies of 750 or fewer, and the schools with the most safe driving commitments from October 18-26 will win a $25,000 or $100,000 grant. If we're the top school in our division, we would also win a concert with Kelly Clarkson! If we get one of the grants, most of the money will go to updating the technology on campus ... which we desperately need!

Here's how you can help: Each day from today through October 26, go to http://celebratemydrive.com/RegisterStudent.aspx and commit to safe driving. You'll enter your email address and birth date first. When it asks you for the state, select Nebraska, then select Community Member, and enter Central City for the city. Then it will pull up a box where you can click Nebraska Christian Schools. You'll take a two question quiz and then check a box to commit to safe driving. That's it! All it takes is one minute of your time. (Well, I'm actually asking for nine minutes of your time, as I'd like you to vote each day!) Please vote!

Update: I just learned you can vote through Facebook, and it's a lot easier to find Nebraska Christian that way! Just click here and enter the requested information, typing "Nebraska Christian" in the school name blank.

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girls' weekend!

My mom and I just got back from a weekend in Omaha with Blendy. It was unexpected and fantastic! I thought I'd tell our story through pictures ...

We're excited to see Blendy!!!

As soon as we got to Omaha, we headed to Chick-fil-A. It had been way too long since I'd had their delicious chicken!

Then we headed off to the Omaha Symphony. We were given free tickets to see Play!, a video game symphony (the unexpected reason for our trip). I'm not a gamer, so I figured I wouldn't know much of the music. I figured right.

Here's what I learned: most video game music (at least the music played by the symphony) sounds like it was composed by Hans Zimmer. Also, whoever wrote the narration seemingly tried to write it using only cliches. By the end, we could barely contain our giggles! 

As the performance ended, I did find myself feeling a little cheated. This picture from the program, while not promising anything, certainly seemed to imply that the Mario theme would be part of the performance. But Mario was nowhere to be found ... and now I have an incredible urge to play some Super Mario!

Dad got us a hotel room so we wouldn't have to drive home late. We stayed at the Comfort Suites, and, though they were in the middle of a major renovation, the rooms were nice. Sadly, though, the breakfast left a lot to be desired.

One of the highlights of our trip was being able to attend Blendy's church this morning. It's very small, and the people are so nice and welcoming. I think she'll really thrive there. Then we headed to Cracker Barrel for lunch. Our server, Alex, was one of the best ever! If you're ever at the Council Bluffs Cracker Barrel, look for Alex—he'll give you the greatest service! I also had perhaps the best fried chicken of my life. It's the Sunday special—two boneless breaded and fried chicken breasts. I could only eat one, so now I have lunch for tomorrow!

Following a rather extended trip to Walmart, we took Blendy back to the dorm and headed home. What a fabulous weekend! (And the icing on the cake? My cats, who were left alone inside for more than 24 hours, didn't destroy anything or relieve themselves anywhere but the litter box!)

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why i don't miss netflix

When I wrote about dumping Netflix a few months ago, I closed with the following:

As of right now, I think I'll come back to Netflix someday. But maybe I'll discover that I don't miss it much at all.

Well, I was right ... about the second sentence. I don't miss Netflix, not one bit. Here's why: for the first time in my life, I'm experiencing the wonder that is the DVR.

When I moved, I intended to just move my internet service (through CenturyLink) with me. I hadn't paid for TV since I lived with a friend in Grand Island from 2005-2006, so I planned to move my antenna that picked up five stations (on a good day) with me, as well.

That all changed when I called CenturyLink to request a transfer of services and try to negotiate a better rate. I went through the appropriate menu options and waited. And waited. And waited. After 20 minutes without reaching a live person, I hung up and dialed CenturyLink's main competitor in my town: USA Communications. In less than a minute, I was speaking with a customer service rep, and I learned that, for approximately what I was paying for internet through CenturyLink, I could get internet, cable, and a DVR. These prices are the introductory 6-month prices, and the rep urged me to call back when those rates are close to expiring—she said they are nearly always running retention specials for their current customers. Sold!

When I called CenturyLink to cancel—thus pushing different automated menu options—I was on the line with a customer service rep in less than two minutes. So apparently you're much more important to the company if you're wanting to leave than if you're calling for any other reason. I get it, but it's still frustrating.

My introduction to the wonderful DVR commenced the next week, and I quickly fell in love.

What I love most about the DVR is it allows me to watch TV on my schedule. (Yes, the VCR I had hooked up to my parents' cable TV did this too, but the DVR is simpler and doesn't require tapes.) Rarely do I stay up late watching something—I can always record it! And if I have two shows on during the same timeslot? I can either record one and watch the other live, or I can record both and watch them later. This saved me last Tuesday, when NCIS (a show you know I'm obsessed with!) and Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premiered at the same time, and I had a meeting at work. With the VCR, I would have had to choose the more important of the two (and NCIS would have won with no question), but thanks to the DVR, I could watch both!

Side note: The NCIS premiere was as great as I'd hoped it would be, and I can't wait for part two of Ziva's goodbye tomorrow night. S.H.I.E.L.D. was okay—I enjoyed the witty Whedon-esque dialog, but the plot didn't enthrall me. I still have it set as a series recording on my DVR, but I'm not sure if I'll keep watching.

The DVR is not essential—neither is cable, for that matter—but I'm certainly enjoying it! I realize that I've done this backwards—most people dump cable in favor of Netflix, not the other way around. But I didn't really dump Netflix for cable—the cable was just a happy, unexpected development. Seriously, though, with all of my expanded basic cable, DVR'd Hallmark and Lifetime movies, and Amazon Prime offerings, who has time to miss Netflix?

My current DVR'd programs. In between the girly movies and Lifetime movies-of-the-week, I do go for some culture. See? Henry IV!

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35 before 35: #17

#17: Get a house cat

After going nearly two years without being able to cross one of my 35 before 35 off the list, I accomplished two in two days: buy a house and get a house cat. Well, technically, I got three house cats.

In July of last year, I got three cats: Isis, Hammond, and Skaara. Per my lease, they had to live outside. When I decided to buy a house, one of the things I was most excited about was the prospect of having my cats in the house. They almost didn't all make it, though ...

The night before I moved, I came home from my parents' house and saw Isis lying by the door. Initially, I was thrilled to see her. For the last few weeks, she had been spending only minimal time at home, and I was afraid she'd be off on one of her adventures when it was time to move. But she didn't get up to greet me, which I found odd, and when I got closer, I saw a pool of blood beside her. I called my mom, who came right away, and we tried to determine where the blood was coming from. We couldn't find it, and the bleeding seemed to have stopped, but she was very lethargic.

A few minutes later, she was bleeding again. By this time, it was after 8 p.m. on Friday night, and I didn't know what to do. We ended up cutting up one of my old sleep shirts to make bandages of sorts—we wrapped the strips around her middle (we still weren't sure where the blood was coming from) and tied them. Each time I checked on her, there was more blood, and she seemed more out of it. Her ears, nose, and paw pads were also getting cold.

I spent a lot of time with her that night, though I didn't know what to do for her other than lightly stroke her back. When I went to bed, I told her goodbye—I truly believed she would be dead by morning.

The morning of the move, I got up early, and the first thing I did was check on Isis. She was still breathing, though she didn't even lift her head when I approached. She had unwound the makeshift bandages in the night, and she was no longer bleeding. Blendy helped me move the other cats (Hammond, Skaara, and Sam the stray—a cat who had adopted us) to the new house. Then when my mom came over, she helped me move Isis. We put all the cats into the spare bedroom while we moved my things. Throughout the day, people would go check on the cats ... and each time someone went in, Isis seemed a little stronger! By that evening, she was moving around and even eating a little. And by the next day, you couldn't even tell she'd been at death's door!

The crazy thing is that Isis's brush with death seemed to give her a new personality. Before, she didn't like me very much and hardly ever let me pet her. Now, one of her favorite things is to perch on my side when I'm laying on the couch. She also makes it her personal mission to make everyone who walks through my door like her. It's bizarre.

It's been a month now, and everyone is healthy and happy. Well, everyone except Sam the stray. I never intended for her to be a house cat, so I put her outside (in the fenced-in backyard) after a couple days. She disappeared almost immediately, and she's been spotted at my old house. But Isis, Skaara, and Hammond? They couldn't be happier. And neither could I.

This is, without a doubt, their favorite place to be. Hammond, Skaara, and Isis.

Hammond and Skaara. These brothers love each other!

Now that Isis has decided she likes loves people, she has decided that people should love her equally. Whether you're a cat person or not, she will do her darndest to make you like her. This often involves trying to rub her face against yours. 

Sometimes, glimpses of the old feisty Isis do emerge. In this photo, she's attacking the pins that hold the shelf in place. Shortly after I took this photo, she knocked over a glass candleholder, which shattered all over the floor. Needless to say, all the breakables have been removed from the bookshelves!

So here's our best guess of what happened to Isis. I had some evil neighbor boys—and I do mean evil. They had threatened to kill my cats in the past (while screaming obscenities at me) ... and they can't be more than 10 years old! On moving day, when Mom and I were describing Isis's wound, my uncles said it sounded like she'd been shot with a pellet gun. We later found a scab on her left side. And then we felt a bump on her right side—a bump that feels suspiciously like a pellet. The prime suspects are those boys. I'm very thankful that we never have to see them again!

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35 before 35: #15

#15: Buy a house

I've already written quite a bit about buying a house (here and here), so basically what's left is to show you the pictures! I moved in one week ago with the help of my parents, Blendy, two uncles, an aunt, and a cousin. They were an absolutely amazing moving crew; we started at 8 a.m., and by 4:30 p.m., I was all moved in, and my old house was completely cleaned.

Most people who post pictures of their new houses either post before the move-in or after all their stuff is put away. I moved the day after closing, and I didn't think to take any pictures before the move. With school beginning this week, it may be a while before I have everything put away and organized. So here's my house ... in all its messy glory!

The house from the front. You can't tell because of the angle on the photo, but the house faces the street corner. I've always liked things that were slightly askew!

The living room from the front door. What you can't tell is the ceiling is slanted, which makes the room seem HUGE. I love it!

The living room facing the front door.

The kitchen from the living room.

The kitchen from the family room.

My bedroom.

The family room. This used to be a garage that the former owners converted. It will eventually be where the cats live, but for now, it's storage.

The bathroom.

The spare bedroom. This is the only room that needs work—I'm going to paint it! For now, this is where the cats live when I'm gone.

The back yard. I love that it's completely fenced in. And the shed is pretty nice.

And there you have it—my house! I'm so excited to have it!

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it wasn't supposed to be like this

When I was a kid, I learned my parents were 24 when they got married. That sounded positively ancient. Surely I'd get married much sooner than that!

I am currently mere days away from my 32nd birthday. And I'm still single.

I had always imagined that by this point in my life, I'd have a husband, two or three kids, and be a stay-at-home mom. For whatever reason, God has put me on a different path. Most of the time, I'm okay with this—I'm actually glad I didn't marry young, as I've done a lot of growing up in the 14 years since I graduated from high school. I enjoy the freedom I have as a single woman; I don't really have to consider anyone else when deciding on purchases, entertainment, meals, or travel. I can do whatever I want on the weekend. I only have to worry about getting myself ready in the morning, so I can sleep until the last possible second.

Overall, my life is good.

Tomorrow, I'll sign the documents to officially purchase my first house. I've heard that moving is one of the five most stressful things in life, and I've never before believed it, but I sure do now! There is so much more stress involved with finding and purchasing a house than there is with renting. And don't even get me started on the loan approval process! (It's enough to give someone a heart condition. No kidding.)

And I wish I had someone to walk by my side, helping me make decisions and sharing the stress.

My parents have been fantastic, checking out houses and going furniture shopping with me, giving advice when I ask for it, and helping me pack. My loan officer has been incredibly patient, reassuring me when the approval process took longer than I thought it should and answering all of my "I have no idea what I'm doing!" questions. My friends have been behind me, cheering me on and praying for wisdom and sanity. My sister Steph has been a great sounding board, always bringing me back to reality. (Also, she mowed my lawn for me tonight so I wouldn't have to take a break from packing to do it. She's pretty awesome.)

But, as wonderful as these people are, they aren't "in it" with me. 

So I want to take a moment to acknowledge something that I usually don't: singleness is hard. It's not my ideal life, but it is my current life. And while journeying through life without a partner is difficult, I shouldn't use it as an excuse for letting my life stagnate.

That's why I took an accounting class this summer (and learned I most certainly should not become an accountant).

That's why I joined a book club through my church, even though meeting new people is difficult for me.

And that's why I'm buying a house.

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nothing to make much ado about

Last month, Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing finally reached theaters. Of course, it didn't reach any theaters near me ... indy movies never come to Central City, and rarely do they play in Grand Island. But my sisters were as excited about this movie as I was, so we decided to see it in Chicago while Blendy and I were visiting Val in Indiana.

I went into the movie fully expecting to love it and anticipating that I'd want to rush out and buy it the instant it hits DVD. Well, that's not exactly what happened ...

You'd think that, as both a Shakespeare fan and a Whedon fan, I'd love this film. But I ended up feeling rather ambivalent about it. It was fine, but it certainly wasn't anything special. In fact, I was so bored during a few segments that I nearly fell asleep.

I'm all about modern-day adaptations of classic tales, but in this case, I didn't think the update really worked. For one thing, while it was a bit humorous at first to hear Shakespeare's words come out of the mouth of someone who was talking on a cell phone, I soon just found it distracting and even absurd. I didn't really buy Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker in their roles as Benedick and Beatrice—I know they were a beloved pair on Angel (which I never watched), but I didn't really think they had much chemistry. And the film is fairly dark—it doesn't carry the light, happy tone I expected. (When I voiced that last objection to Blendy, she said, "Of course it's dark. It's Whedon!" Which is true ... but it's also a Shakespeare comedy!)

That said, the film did do some things right. The scenes where Beatrice and Benedick hear about the other's supposed love for them were hilarious, full of great physical comedy. I enjoyed Fran Kranz as Claudio (Topher!), Reed Diamond as Don Pedro, and Clark Gregg as Leonato. But the best part, hands down, was Nathan Fillion as Dogberry. He completely knocked it out of the park! When I first heard that was his role, I was disappointed—in the Kenneth Branagh version, I always found Dogberry's scenes downright painful. Michael Keaton's Dogberry was gross, unkempt, and probably insane. Fillion's Dogberry was an idiot, but a hilarious one. (Go here to watch a clip.)

As we watched the film, I couldn't help but compare it to Kenneth Branagh's version, and I ended up concluding that the Branagh version is superior in every way except for the portrayal of Dogberry. I even preferred Keanu Reeves's sneering Don John!

All in all, I'm glad we were able to see the movie, but I don't think it's one I'll be adding to my collection.

Have you ever been disappointed by a movie you'd greatly anticipated?

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