part 2

These pictures all come from Isla San Jose, just off the coast of Panama on the Carribbean side.

(Makes it seem like I know what I'm talking about, huh?)

shootin' the moon...in pictures (part 1)

Mark and I after dinner on our wedding night; downtown SA. The rest are from our walking tour in the historic part of Panama City on our honeymoon. Mark did most of the photography on the trip, and I've taken the liberty to edit a smidge. Go team!

lions and tigers and bears!

I have to start this post by apologizing for the funky formatting. There are some battles I am just not cut out to fight!

Things have been busy lately, even more so than the "busy" that makes up my new "norm." But now that Day Camp is over, I hope things will settle down a smidge.

For your viewing pleasure, animals galore!

We almost didn't get to go due to the threat of rain, but after checking and rechecking every radar map and forecast this side of the Rio Grande (literally), we made an 11th-hour decision to go ahead and try it out. I'm so glad we did, and that God graciously held off the rain till after we'd had our fun.


A benefit to going to the zoo on a cloudy day is that most of the animals were out. I didn't get to see everything, but a few favorites included the tiger, kangaroos and their joeys (who I saw in June when they were still small enough to hang out in their pouches), and the elephant who ironically enough was being fed behind the big sign that instructs folks not to feed him or her.

Happy 4th on the 7th!

I hope y'all (which would be the grammatically correct way to spell it, in case you were wondering) had a wonderful long weekend!

Mark and I went down to the coast for a couple of days. Thanks to Roger and Beth for opening their home to us, and Laura and Colten for sharing a room so we could have Laura's. We had such a great time with everyone!

On Friday, Roger took us all out into the Corpus Christi bay on his boat...in the rain. I was concerned, but all turned out well. I joined my husband for a little wade fishing, which means we were standing out in the middle of the water rather than fishing off a pier or the coastline. (Yes, I was wearing my life jacket in 4-feet-deep water.) I couldn't do much fishing for a number of reasons, including the fact that I don't have a pole, so I opted to provide an exciting color commentary as Mark fished.

Perhaps this is why Mark finally gave me the pole, so I would be distracted from my distraction. And guess what. I CAUGHT A FISH!!! It wasn't a "keeper," but I didn't care. I caught a fish and reeled it in despite Mark's lefthanded reel. I'M AN AMBIDEXTROUS FISHER-WOMAN!!! (Okay...so this might be slight exaggeration but hey...it's my blog. I can exaggerate if I want to.)

The fish I caught was aptly named a lady fish (aka: skipjack, but I prefer the girly name). We didn't have a camera out there in the water and we didn't keep the fish, so I found a picture on the good ol' WWW for you to enjoy.

Hope yous guys (that's for you, Kim!) had a great 4th as well! Happy Birthday, America!

Pop Quiz

Do you spell it....

a) y'all -- a contraction of "you" and "all"
b) ya'll -- a contraction of "ya" and "all"
c) neither, because I don't live in Texas

the long-awaited winner is....

Always look on the bright side!
I don't know how long I've been using the phrase and meaning it, but I truly do. The older I get, the more I realize how many blessings can be wrapped up in the hard times and how many lessons can be learned through the struggle.

6 word memoir

Several of my friends have done the little memoir and I've been thinking for a few weeks about what mine would be. Truly, the title of my blog might say it all -- variety is the spice of life. But since that would be boring, and also not offer any variety, I knew I needed another.

I had a few contenders:
shake it like a Polaroid picture
jump, shake your booty, jump jump
life, laugh, love -- wash, rinse, repeat
you'll never know till you try
always carry your passport...in case...
why do today? why not postpone?

Stay tuned for the next post when I unveil the winner. I'd post it now, but I'm looking for a picture. :)

7 Things

Dara tagged me for a "7 Random Things" post. Since I have posted numerous random things about me in the past, and in the spirit of another ode, I submit to you "7 Random Things About Mark."

1. "Conjuncture" is one of his favorite words. I contend that he means "juncture," but he refuses to yield to my verbal prowess.

2. One word: lefty!

3. He believes expiration dates to be an economic stimulus conspiracy. This could, in all fairness, be true. But I, for one, am happy to spend an additional $4.59 for Benedryl that is in-date.

4. He feeds and waters the deer in the greenbelt, and has taught me to do the same. Unfortunately, I have grown to love these deer as pets. He warns me against naming them anything more than "Venison 1", "Venison 2", and so on. (Okay, so that's not true. But wouldn't it be funny if he did?)

5. He detests paisley. I don't think he's realized yet that the shower curtain he picked out for our guest bath actually has a slight paisley print.

6. For being the avid hunter/fisherman that he is, he actually doesn't like going to Bass Pro.

7. And, last but not least, he has one of the biggest servant hearts around.

Sisters, Sisters....

Well, well, well....my how time flies!

I had a friendly request from my sister-in-law for a blog update. Since it's Mother's Day today -- and I mailed her card late -- and her birthday is Tuesday -- and I haven't sent a card -- I decided to oblige. Arwen, this blog's for you!

I have to tell you, marrying into a great family isn't a guarantee. But God has granted me blessings beyond measure in my new circle of family. One of those blessings is Arwen. If you don't know her, you should. She is so sweet, but has a touch of sass to her, which is endearing to me. She is smart. She can multitask. She is raising two of my favorite cuties (Reedo and Cass) with grace and laughter. And she loves the Lord in a genuine way. There are plenty of other great things about her, and plenty of great things I've yet to learn about her.

So, in conclusion....I'm

Anticipating a
Reunion
With my
Extra-special sister-
N-law, ARWEN!

Oh, and...

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday (a little early), Dear Arwen!
Happy Birthday to you!
And many more....

...and we're back!

It's been a few weeks. I've meant to blog. I've intended to blog. I've planned to blog. But life sometimes gets in the way, as does laziness, exhaustion, and a number of other things.

Of course you handful of loyal readers know I got married, so why I felt I couldn't post anything till I did a wedding post is a mystery to us all....