We Landed on the Moon!

Some may call this crazy, but I love it!! I have always been fascinated and intrigued with space. Now, I'm not talking about the space that you search for as you try to cram something else in your closet or the space that you sometimes need from people with whom you have spent a considerable amount of time. I'm talking about the real deal, outerspace, universe, galaxies...Space!

From a young age, I can remember my uncle teaching and quizzing me about planets and stars and showing me different constellations through his telescope (even though the only one I can point out today is the big dipper!). From then on space has always interested me. I'm a frequenter of cnn.com and even to this day if a space related article is there, I just have to read it. I watched the movie Apollo 13 earnestly. For a speech in high school, I even chose the topic of space. So, I guess it makes sense that on today, the 40th anniversary of the day man walked on the moon, I awoke elated, as I had planned a party in honor of this great achievement! Yes, it was a party that featured tang, moon pies, the original newscast of July 20, 1969, and music made popular in 1969 (which I hope you are enjoying as you read this!).

Anytime one mentions landing on the moon, there is often a mentioning of the conspiracy that perhaps we didn't really land on the moon. That we (as Americans) needed a moral boost and NASA officials staged the landing. I like to think that we did land on the moon, and I believe that we did. However, the arguments posed from both sides are intriguing and make one think and question the validity of space travel. Nevertheless, Happy 40th Anniversary to all of those involved with the Apollo 11 mission!

As John F. Kennedy said, we choose to go to the moon not because it's easy, but because it is hard. Landing on the moon, a great feat, shows us that with hard work and perserverance, we can accomplish the unthinkable.

Adventures with Friends

The theme of this week could best be expressed with the words friends and dancing! I am blessed with so many wonderful friends, and this week I spent all sorts of time with friends. Friends that I have known since kindergarten, college friends, friends that live in small towns, friends that live in the city, and friends that I met in England. To kick off the week, my sister and I decided to go rock climbing!! After we convinced the people working there that we actually were over 18 so that we could climb, it was really fun! However, we learned that rock climbing is a little harder than it looks...we could only master level one!

Adventure number two: Rodeo Dance

Where I'm from, the Elks Rodeo is the social event of the season. Directly following the rodeo is the rodeo dance. It is held in the county fair barns and features live country music. When I heard my friend was going, I put on my cowboy boots and joined the fun! Because the dance is the social event of the season, I also got to visit with several classmates, all of us had attended kindergarten through twelfth grade together. It had been about a year since I had seen them and it was so fun to catch up with each other's lives. In school, I was on the livestock judging team; our team consisted of the same four people 4th grade to 12th grade, and the majority of us were at the dance. Last summer, one member and I had our kareoke singing debuts together at a bar. I learned that his kareoke career has taken off and he is performing...he even has some video's on youtube...check it out "Daren Miller." The end of the night was the best part, as we drove to "the cliffs" and watched the stars. I had forgotten how they populate the sky in NW Oklahoma and how calming the sound of nature is...truly wonderful!

Adventure number three: Emily's Wedding

Student teaching in England allowed me to make many friends. Maybe it was living in such close proximity, seeing unforgetable places, having limited internet connection, renaming ourselves with travel names, growing as individuals, relying on each other, or surviving hostels and subways. Whatever it was, I have some great friends from this experience. One of the members of the "Feltwell Crew," Emily, got married this weekend. She was beautiful and the wedding was wonderful. All of the girls of the Feltwell Crew were there; we gave an Irish toast and danced the night away.

I have had a great weekend being with friends. Here's a toast for all you friends out there!

A sunbeam to warm you, Good luck to charm you.

A Sheltering angel, So nothing can harm you,

Laughter to cheer you, Faithful friends near you,

And whenever you pray, Heaven to hear you.

Expect the Unexpected

You know those sayings that your mother always tells you growing up..."If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all," "Elbows off the table," and "Mind your p's and q's." Living with my parents this summer, I have learned that "mom-isms" still exist; they have just changed a little.

New Momism: "Don't buy the first couch you see."
I will soon be moving into my first house after college, and I have been looking for furniture to have in my new house. I found this pretty creme colored couch that I really liked, but it was huge, heavy, and a little too pricey. Driving back home, my mom could tell I was a little bummed that it wasn't the perfect couch, and she offered this advice of don't buy the first couch you see...her new mom-ism for this twenty-something. I took her advice and a few days later found the perfect couch! It is even better than the first one.

New Momism: "Expect the unexpected"
Not to be a "Debby Downer," but I was scheduled to work the entire 4th of July weekend. I was not happy about this, mostly because the 4th of July is my favorite holiday. Before I left for my first shift on Friday, my mom, trying to cheer me up, said "expect the unexpected." I think she meant that work might be better than I was anticipating it to be. Work was absolutely crazy and unexpected this weekend! Once again...Mom was right!

Friday at work, we had a main water line break and it shorted out the electricity. The fire alarms were going off, then the air conditioner broke, then the electricity went off in the kitchen. It was madness in the restaurant, and I got the pleasure of informing the guests waiting for tables about the problem. We were not seating guests for 2 hours while people were fixing the problem. Once we opened back up, everyone was a little upset. Usually, I am never praised for being a hostess. In fact, I usually leave feeling like the worst hostess ever. I constantly get in trouble for not handing guests the menus, not washing the windows correctly, not walking fast enough, not standing up straight, not holding the door open for guests, not offering a bag for to-go boxes, talking to the other hostesses, etc. Basically I feel like Cinderella...sometimes I even sing "In my own little corner, in my own little world" to myself. Okay so enough feeling sorry for myself. In our restaurant, you can be "caught giving exemplary servce" by the managers. Now, I've never been "caught giving exemplary service," but on Friday night I was! I was so happy! Definetly Unexpected!!

Saturday at work...more unexpecteds! I enjoy speaking in Spanish; we were not busy, so the bussers and I began talking to each other. I would ask them what words were in Spanish and they would ask me what words were in English...pretty fun! Then a storm came through, and once again I was at the restaurant working. It was so windy and the rain was coming down in sheets. The restuarant began leaking in numerous spots. Then, a guest informs the hostess stand that there is water standing in between the front doors. I opened the first set of doors to find about 6 inches of standing water. I got the pleasure of squeegee-ing the water from the front doors. I had never used a squeegee before, so another unexpected. Because of the rain, several of the firework shows were cancelled. This means that I still get to see fireworks tonight!!

Expect the unexpected...so true! I have learned that your plans never go as expected, and I have learned that that is the fun part of life! Sometimes what may seem like a bad thing can turn out to be great!