Practical Jokes

I love practical jokes. They make me laugh. Ok, they make me laugh unless something is damaged or someone gets hurt.

Last night after I left work my desk was tee-peed. Ultra-sound gel was also put on my mouse and under the arms of my chair. The gel had dried so that wasn't squishy, but I will give the person credit for trying. I laughed!

When something like this happens it makes me feel liked/loved. I know...kind of weird. If someone didn't like you or love you they wouldn't take the time to do something fun like this. They would just go slash your tires or punch you in the goider...I know...they wouldn't go that far..they would just ignore you.

I don't know if any of you remember our birthday present we gave our friend, Brandon, a couple of years ago. Ronnie, Hunter, Cole and I had such a good time decorating his office for his birthday. We used 10 rolls of aluminum foil.

Those were good times!

Happy Birthday Ebby!!

YES!! THAT'S RIGHT!! It's Ebby's birthday.

Ebby, I just want to tell you how special and lovely you are. I am so glad I didn't go to that Michael Bolton concert 18 years ago. Instead, the Lord had other plans for me. I would meet the girl I would later (not too much later) marry, then fall in love with...in that order. I love what our relationship has grown into over the years. You are worth fighting for. We didn't start out as the man or woman of each other's dreams, but you have definitely grown into the girl of my dreams. Thank you for sticking with me. Thank you you for not giving up on "us". I love you with all my heart and hope you have a wonderful day.

Happy Birthday!

RR

Back from Cambodia (by RR)

Well, I have finally had some time to sit down to think and write about my trip to Cambodia. I mean after all, involuntarily awakened at 7:00 this morning by my messed up internal clock. Thankfully it was not 3 or 4 am. Overall, I have slept well since I have been back.

I got back to Rochester Wednesday at 4pm. Which pretty remarkable since we left Cambodia Tuesday at 11pm. It is confusing, I know, but essentially Cambo is 12 hours ahead of us in the central time zone. So, 6pm Wednesday in Phnom Penh is 6am Wednesday in Rochester. After all of the math, flights and layovers, we traveled a total of 29 hours. It really wasn't too bad though. I do get a little restless by the end of the long haul over the Pacific. This time it was 12 hours. I have to get up and stand or stretch a lot by the end.

We got do do some pretty amazing things while in Cambodia. THe main reason we went was to lead worship for the missionaries at their annual conference. After a couple of speed bumps, that ended up going very well. Imagine not getting to sing worship songs as a group in your native language (English) except only ocassionally. Then someone comes over and starts singing all your favorite worship songs in English. It would be pretty cool. The missionaries are always grateful and sing at the top of their lungs. It is a beautiful sound.

We got to visit an orphanage called Rescue. The lady who runs it is named Marie Ens. When you talk to her, a few thing occur to you. One is that she is so sweet and normal. Kind of like a beloved grandma. Another thing is that occurs to you is that she is so passionate about saving kids from all kinds of horrible situations. She knows all of their stories, and in some cases has fought tooth and nail to rescue them from horrific circumstances. Another thing is that it feels like you are hanging out with Mother Teresa. She is so remarkable, and has sacrificed her life, comfort, and a multitude of other things to fight for theses kids who literally have no one else in their life to do so, who have been cast aside by their society. It was definitely one of the hightlights of the trip.

We also got to visit one of the English Camps put on by the missionaries. English Camps are an opportunity for the Cambodian teenagers and university students to come learn some basic english for free. They also mix the gospel message into the lessons. People from the U.S. fly over and help the missionaries run the camp. Some years there are up to 100 kids who come to learn some e nglish. It lasts about a week. They were having so much fun and singing songs and having a bunch of team competitions and stuff. It would be fun to go and do and E.C. sometime.

Overall the weather was nice. It was pretty warm, but the humidity got out of control a couple of days. It was down right steamy. While we were at the conference it rained everyday except the last one. We did get to go visit the beach on that last day. It turned into a very nice day.

The food in Cambodia is fantastic. It is definitely Asian, kind of a mix of Thai (but without the spicy-ness)and Chinese. THere is always something tasty.

Sorry for the mini-novel. This is the abridged version. I could have kept going. If you have any questions feel free to send one in the comments.

On to the pictures:

In the Roch. Airport

People and Places in Phnom Penh:

Singing at English Camp

Last night in P.P.

I will spend 12 hours in your belly

Genocide Museum

Officer Ponch from CHiP's

Going the wrong way in traffic (very common)

The interseting fruit selection (very tasty)

Me, Martha and Jake walking up the Independence Memorial

The Royal Palace:

The Orhanage:

Marie Ens

Human Jungle Gyms

The Beach:

The toughest part of the trip...but somebody's gotta do it.

Get the party started!!!

That's right people...My birthday is NEXT WEEK!!!! Tuesday to be exact! I will be 42 so that means that I get 42 presents...right Ronnie?!?!

Speaking of Ronnie, he made it home safely on Wednesday. He is still battling the clock, but he is slowly getting back on track. I will get him to post some pictures and tell some about his trip tomorrow.

We had a good time going through his suitcase when he got home Wednesday. He brought home lots of goodies. It was fun.

Enough of trying to fill this post with stuff. I really just wanted to let everyone know that my birthday was this coming Tuesday...July 28th....4 days from now...next week...I will be 42....just thought I would let you know....

Re-Cycle, Re-Use, Re-Purpose

I love this concept. Over the past few weeks I have gotten so many things for FREE! Things that I have wanted, but just couldn't bring myself to pay money for. I am cheap these days. I have taken these items and re-used them by re-purposing them. None of them are actually being used as they were originally purposed to. I love it!

I am trying to make weekly trips to Goodwill, Salvation Army, and to yard sales to see what I can find that would fit in our house. It is really stretching my (non-existing) creative skills. It is amazing what a can of paint can do for an item. I am having so much fun!!

While I was out and about two weekends ago I was handed a flier about "the 3/50 project". Basically, it is a project trying to encourage people to shop at locally owned businesses. It says that if just half the employed U.S. population spent $50 each month in independently owned businesses, their purchases wuold generate more than $42.6 billion in revenue.

For evey $100 spent in independently owned stores, an average of $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures. If you spend that in a national chain, only $43 stays in the community. Spend it online and nothing comes home!

After seeing this flier I tried to think of places that I could shop. My first stop was at the locally owned Ace Hardware store. I love going in there due to the personal service I have always received. I will admit that it is easier to go to one of the big three...Lowes, Home Dept or Menards, but I really like going in Ace Hardware when I can.

I was also thinking that we could go to locally owned resturants sometimes if/when we go out to eat. I don't think that I can give up my chain stores completely. They are business, too, and they employ people in the community. Just a thought as to how we can support some of those small businesses.

Well I am off of here...I need to find some more license plates and two wooden shutters. This re-purposing is so much fun!!!!!

Bouncing around in my head....

This is what was bouncing around in my head at 5:30 this morning...


1) Ronnie...turn off the alarm...oh wait...he isn't here.
2) Did the kids make it home ok last night after seeing the mid-night showing of Harry Potter? Just kidding...I made them wake me up when they got home.
3) I can not believe I got a door for FREE yesterday. It has original glass door knobs! Oh My Goodness. It is deliciousness.
4) I can not believe I found an old TV console for FREE at a yard sale this past weekend. I am going to have fun painting these things this weekend.
5) Can I get those two things and the table painted before Ronnie gets back?
6) Probably not. Oh poo!
7) How is it that Hunter is taller than me now? He must have grown 5 or 6 inches this year.
8) I wonder how Veronica feels now that her little brother is catching up with her? Hahahahahaha
9) Now I wonder if I will be able to find a FREE shutter? That would really make it a good week of "finds"
10) I have to mow the lawn this afternoon. Another "Oh poo!"
11) Iwonder how many loads of laundry I actually do in a year.
12) I need to do laundry tonight.
13) My Birthday is this month!!!!
14) Since I will be 42 on my next birthday will I get 42 gifts?
15) Hahahahahahaha
16) I wonder what Ronnie is bringing back from Cambodia?
17) I really should get up now. (remember that this was this morning)
18) Do I have time to get in some reading before getting ready for work?
19) NO!!
20) I really want to go to Salvation Army or Goodwill today, but I really shouldn't spend the money.
21) I hope it rains today so that I don't have to mow the lawn.
22) What color should I paint the door, cabinet, and table?
23) That is a joke...I can't match colors.
24) Where is Ronnie or Jennifer (one of my GNO's) when I need to come up with a color scheme?
25) English is moving into her 1st apartment this week. What can I get as a house warming gift? I still can't believe she is 21.
26) Please let it rain today.
27) Please please let it rain today.
28) Still wondering if I can get some reading in.

A Note From Ronnie

I got a note from Ronnie today. Thought that I would share it will you all.

It is 11:41pm here in Phnom Penh and we just got all checked in and settled into our hotel room. We traveled for a total of 26 hours. Out of the 26, I slept between 5 and 6 hours split between 3 naps. I did that purposely so I would be really tired when we arrived here and just maybe sleep throught the night. The time difference is exactly 12 hours, so my body clock is still trying to convince me that it is noon. Hopefully I made the body clock tired enough that it just knows it needs to sleep.

The flights and all of the connections went smoothly. The bulk of the time (13 hours) was spent on the flight from Chicago to Seoul, Korea. Thanks for the prayers. Please continue to pray for us.

As he writes to me I will try to share it will you all. Hope you have a great day!

Mission Trip

This morning Ronnie left with three other church members for a missions trip to Cambodia. He was so excited to be able to go. This is his second trip to Cambodia, and he had such a great time when he went two years ago.

Ronnie was busy busy yesterday trying to finish up packing and getting everything together. They can only take one suitcase each and they can't weigh over 50 pounds. The only other luggage is their carry on. When these groups go they try to take things that the missionaries can't get over there...like cake mix. :) Therefore finding room for your stuff and the things for the missionaries as well as keeping it under 50 pounds is a little bit of a challenge. This time they were able to take a keyboard for the church over there as well as some medical equipment.

Ronnie finally got everything under 50 pounds after a couple of "weigh-ins" on the scale. It was funny watching him go back and forth from the bedroom to the bathroom to weigh the suitcase after removing a couple of things each time.

This morning we got up pretty early and as I was getting ready for work Ronnie went outside to pack the car. I had to ask him something so I opened the bathroom window (it faces the driveway). He was looking in both cars and I asked him what he was looking for. He looked a little confused and asked me if I had opened the glove box to the grey car. No...I hadn't been outside yet. He then informed me that someone had gone through both of the cars and that his wallet and cell phone were gone.

Now, all of you are probably thinking the exact same thing I first thought..."Why was his wallet and cell phone left in the car overnight?" I thought it....I thought it very hard, but I didn't say anything. I just closed the window and kept getting ready.

What a way to start his trip to Cambodia. Wallet and cell phone were gone. Thankfully the only things in the wallet were $22, his health insurance card, drivers license, and work credit card. When I got to work I called the cell phone company, the police and the church. Everything taken care of. Hopefully there hadn't been anything charged on the credit card.

Oh well...we got to the airport in plenty of time. Ronnie has his passport so he will still be able to travel. He will be gone 2 long weeks, but I think we will be fine. We did it last year for 4 months so this shouldn't be bad at all. The only thing is that this time I don't have my mom to spoil us and help me out. :)

I have included a couple of pictures I got off of the internet. When Ronnie went to Cambodia last time I had to look it up on a map. I knew it was Asian and I knew it was by Vietnam, but I didn't know exactly where it was. It is in the bottom right hand corner of Asia on the big map and then I included one of Cambodia. I THINK Ronnie will be in Phnom Penh. Don't quote me on that.

The other pictures are just of different things in Phnom Penh. It shows how "busy" the city is. I really hope that they have good travels and a great time over there.