Happy (late) anniversary to us!

We had a fabulous long weekend in San Antonio, and, since we've been there multiple times already we felt no pressure to run here and there filling up our schedule to the brim so as not to miss anything.

It helped that this time we stayed in a really nice hotel with beautiful grounds and a lovely pool/hot tub area.







(We stayed for free, because why would we ever pay full-price for any vacation? This is just part of John's reward for practically living in Oklahoma City for five months.) Because let me just tell you, last time we took a little getaway to San Antonio? We stayed in a little place called the Alamo Inn (not anywhere actually near the Alamo), and when you stay someplace like that you pretty much cram your weekend full of anything that involves NOT being at the motel...with the bugs and the stained carpet.

So this weekend, there was swimming, reading on the balcony, napping, plenty of walking around to see beauty (the grounds at the Alamo, the non-commercial parts of the Riverwalk, the King William District, parks), and gourmet dining. Because, doesn't everyone know the most important part of vacation is the eating?

OK, I admit we went to one very touristy locale for dinner one night. It had been ages since either of us had been to Mi Tierra. While it's a San Antonio institution, flamboyantly decorated, and always has about 200 people eating there, the food is not anything out-of-the-ordinary. It's really good, just overpriced for what you get.

Although... and I don't know if I should really be sharing this little secret...we inadvertently found a way to order fajitas for two (normally priced at $27) for only $19. It really had a lot to do with the fact that the waiter didn't ask John whether he wanted beef or chicken fajitas, so when it came with beef (which would have been fine with him, I was the one who wanted chicken - because we were supposed to be sharing!) John asked if he could just get a side of chicken. So the waiter brought him a little plate of wonderful grilled chicken and charged it as a chicken taco for $3.95. (I know, who would pay $3.95 for a chicken taco? I guess someone who would wait an hour to be seated at the most crowded restaurant in San Antonio...and us, inadvertently of course.) Needless to say, between the "fajitas for two" and bean and cheese nachos, we had more than enough food.

And because I hate to see anyone waste their money and calories on bad food while on vacation, I will share the names of the other really wonderful places we ate: Azuca, Rosario's, The Guenther House, San Antonio Botanical Gardens restaurant, and Schilo's. Warning: none are on the Riverwalk. There are a few supposedly fantastic restaurants on the Riverwalk - all very high-priced. The ones we've eaten at in the past are just good and maybe a little pricey for the food you get.

One other totally unrelated snippet of the weekend continues to make me laugh. On the way back to our hotel one evening, we overheard a man at a bus stop telling a fellow passenger, "When we used to raid villages, we'd look for the pigs, sheep and oxen." I have no context for that comment, and really, would there even be a legitimate, realistic context in which that comments would make sense? It is not 1870. And the man was not 139 years old.

I have the post-vacation blues today. They are especially bad after such a relaxing, fun weekend. (And maybe they are a bit worse because I have been on extra doses of hormones following that last surgery I had.)

Or maybe I'm addicted to travel. I'm having withdrawal and am already thinking about our next trip. I can't wait!

So, I think today will be rather unproductive. I'm already preparing for that possibility. I think I'll just blame it on the hormones.

It's an agricultural wonder.

Looky, looky! (Some of) My vegetables are starting to come in! Despite the flood-like conditions we've been experiencing the past couple weeks!

Tomatoes:



Those are the cherry type of tomatoes. My other regular tomato plants, while looking healthy and growing, are not producing any blossoms. Thus, no tomatoes. I may have mentioned once or twice that I'm not a genius in the garden, so I have no guesses as to why this is happening. I also have not done very extensive research on the subject.

So, if you happen to be an expert horticulturalist who just happens to reading my blog today, I would truly appreciate it if you could just put an answer to this quandary in the comments of this post. Thank you ever so much.

(Because I am sure musings on, you know, the Texas State Fair, government subsidized television, and travel toothpaste have caught your attention and drawn you into this blog.)

Yellow Squash:



Out of the four I planted, this is the only promising yellow squash plant. I knew all along I should plant more than necessary because that would, perhaps, ensure one survival.

Zucchini:



Pretty exciting, huh?!?

I'll leave this entry at that. I could bore you with the saga about how roly-poly/pillbugs are swarming my garden and threatening the safety of my squash plants (the ones that are still alive) or how my bell pepper plants are not getting any bigger, but I won't.

Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion, er, continuation (because you can count on me talking about the garden much more than one more time this summer) of the organic garden project. Next up: the first harvest!

Bet ya can't wait. Do have a lovely evening.

Baylor University / Compassion International Mission Trip

One of the purposes, it now seems, of our Compassion International Sponsor Tour to Uganda last fall was for John to be able to coordinate funds from Baylor University alumni working with him at Ernst & Young, the missional hearts of current accounting students at Baylor, and the great ministry of Compassion International.

So, what are the results of all this coordination, lots of Compassion orchestration, and dedicated, creative Baylor accounting students? A mission trip to Uganda.

A couple Compassion staff members from the US, a Baylor accounting professor, 14 accounting students, and a representative from EY are getting read to board a plane in London headed to Kampala as I type this. They will be met by some great people working for the Compassion Uganda country office when they arrive.

I've looked at their schedule for the next 11 days and, whew, I could not be a college student again! Surviving on adrenaline, an hour of sleep, and youth for more than two weeks is, sadly, a thing of the past for me. That ship has sailed.

Anyway, the Baylor students will be working with church leaders, local businesses, and Compassion Leadership Development Program students at Uganda Christian University to research for microfinance loans, teach ethics courses, and establish some basic accounting and business understandings so business people and leaders can use God's resources wisely. And of course they'll also visit some Compassion projects in Uganda and play with some fantastic children!

Considering the quantity of stuff they plan to cram into this trip and the fact that none of them need a decent amount of sleep, their blog should be chock-ful of entertaining tidbits.

So, read along if you can. Definitely keep this group, the LDP students they'll be working with, and all their activities in your prayers.

Because of a little thing called "work", John was unable to go on the trip this time, so we are following along via the blog posts as well.

(And if you thought I could write a whole post about this mission trip and not ask you, once again, to consider sponsoring a Compassion child, you'd be wrong. It's like you don't even know me!)

Happy Sunday!

On Medical Advice and Sacrifice

I feel almost completely recovered after my laparoscopy and hysteroscopy a little over a week ago. Even though the surgery wasn't a huge inconvenience, and the recovery period was much quicker and more comfortable than I had imagined, I still really hope it was all worth it. The entire point of the procedures was to a.) get a look at how extensive my endometriosis is and b.) do some correcting that might increase our chances of getting pregnant.

We'll have to wait to see if it all really works. I need to take a few months right now to let all my insides heal.

So, in the mean time, I am very glad to be back at work. I almost don't even want to call my job "work" because I love it so much!

Oh, and I feel it is my civic responsibility to share my doctor's words of wisdom, a tip for anyone after a laparoscopic or hysteroscopic surgery.

(If you have no intention of ever having laparoscopic surgery you can just skip this tedious bit of information.)

I have heard so many people talk about what severe pain they were in following the surgery - because of the gas left in their abdominal area. For the surgery, the doctor will have to blow up your abdominal cavity with gas. He tries to remove it all afterward, but it's just impossible to get it all out. The gas starts moving around after the surgery, causing the diaphragm and right shoulder to be in stabbing pain.

I'm not sure why no other doctor apparently knows about this, but I must say it works like a charm. For everybody else: when your diaphragm starts hurting a little, crouch down knees and elbows together, forehead on the ground, rear end up in the air (think of how Muslims kneel to pray). If you can, have someone massage your tummy gently. Remain in this position for five minutes.

From personal experience, I can verify that after you do this, the pain in the diaphragm and shoulder will subside and I personally had no other pain. Ever.

(*For those of you trying to get to the interesting part of this post, you can start reading here.*)

Actually, there is a much more interesting and important point to this post. My favorite part of the past week was receiving a letter from Ronnie (our sponsored child with Compassion International).



Here's (part of) what he had to say:

I thank you so much for the family gifts you have sent to me and my family in order to be able to build a house. My family is so happy. We are all very happy. We appreciate you and pray that God sees you and blesses all that you do because you have made us so special. I hope that soon I will send you a photo of our house we have built. We are still building it now and I hope soon, God willing, we will complete it and start staying in it.

Can you tell he's happy?

Can you tell I'm happy?!?!

Can you believe that $600 was all it took to allow this family to purchase their own land and materials to build a house of their own so they do not have to spend more than half their income each month to rent a tiny shack for their family of nine?

$600. This is one of the reasons why we choose to forgo cable, live in a small house, eat our meals at home, and sacrifice a little on our clothing budget.

And when you get to know one of these children - through letters, pictures, and maybe a sponsor tour visit - the sacrifices seem small and bearable. Because you can picture your child and his or her family living without a TV or computer, much less cable and internet; making do with a few shirts and pants while our closets are larger than most of their homes; and depending on the weather to make their garden grow in order to eat, not even knowing what a restaurant is.

Is there something you might be able to sacrifice in order to sponsor a Compassion child? You don't have to give large family gifts. Just $32 a month changes a life: education, spiritual growth, healthcare, nutritious meals, and opportunities that lead to a bright future.

Possibly the most boring post....ever.

I have made it through the surgery and am recuperating very well, thank you.

Now that I am no longer taking the prescription pain meds, I feel I have a good chance of writing a coherent post for the blog now. Not that there's anything much to say since I have spent the last two days in a prescription pain medication haze.

This morning I went to the doctor to be rid of the stupid catheter and bag that's been attached to my leg since Friday. I have to say, the absence of the catheter makes me feel about 78% better already!

Although I have been sleeping quite a bit, I have also managed to browse through a magazine, read a fiction book, catch up on "Hell's Kitchen" episodes (maybe not such a good idea while still yearning for real food on Saturday and feeling a bit nauseous from the anesthesia), view last week's episode of "24", and watch two movies.

Wow. How much I have accomplished in the past two days!

Honestly, I don't feel too bad about all the inactivity since, before today, it was pretty much stormy and raining cats and dogs since straight after my surgery on Friday. Plus, you know, I just had surgery.

So, I'm now trying to figure out what other movies I've been wanting to see, but haven't seen, since my doctor prescribed a week off of work. Any ideas? What's your favorite movie?

Whew. I'm worn out. In case anything entertaining happens around here in the next few days, I'll be sure to update. Otherwise, you can be assured I am either napping, reading, or watching a movie.

And I'm well underway to a great recovery. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!