Friday, October 03, 2008

I'm off to the Sunshine state

So this is a lame post... but I just needed to state a few things.

1. Congrats to my bff Hayley and Michael and their new baby daughter Mayzie Emma Nixon.. pictures will come later
2. I'm super pumped to see my grandparents and spend multiple days laying out at the pool and the beach
3. Yeah Wells Fargo. Way to get in there and snag Wachovia.... to keep me employed! I do love the wagon.
4. Cubs... seriously, I have no words for you right now. Consider yourself shunned until you decide to play baseball.
5. Iowa Hawkeyes, can we maybe win a conference game this year? Please? That's not too much to ask I hope.
6. Is the election over yet?
7. Swilson, how does it feel to be so much older and wiser?
8. Java Jazz... are you ready to be jazzy? what.. i got nothin
9. The Office... next time you have a season premiere, don't wait 2 weeks before you show the next episode. That was so cruel!
10. My favorite joke of the year: What do you get when you cross an elephant with a rhino? elephino! hahahaha (thanks tbone)

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Choose this day whom you will serve!

Have you guys ever heard of the musician Brooke Fraser. I was listening to her song "Albertine" this morning and one of her lyrics is

"now that I have seen, I am responsible"
Short but sweet right! I was just thinking and praying about how I can't be oblivious to things that are going on around this city. I have a responsibility to stand up for Christ b/c I know him. I can't expect others to do it for me anymore. She sings about how she will go tell the world. It’s a really amazing song and I just wanted to share those thoughts with you this morning. We are to go forth in faith, as believers believing in one God standing firm in His grace. We are to love eachother as Christ first loved the church.

John 10:17-18 The Father loves me b/c I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily.

Choose this day whom you will serve!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Congratulations Julie and Ryan!!

Today is the day!! This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! I'm so excited for you both.... (sorry Ryan, I only had a picture Julie and I)


Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Go Hawkeyes!!!

One day in an elementary school in Ames, IA, a teacher asks her class if the Iowa State Cyclones are their favorite football team. The whole class says yes, except for Little Jimmy.

The teacher asks, "What's your favorite football team Jimmy?"

Little Jimmy says, "The Iowa Hawkeyes "

The teacher asks, "Well, why is that?"

Little Jimmy says, "Well, my dad is a Hawkeye fan, my mom is a Hawkeye fan, I guess that makes me a Hawkeye fan."

The teacher angered by his reply says, "If your dad was a moron and your mom was an idiot what would that make you?"

Little Jimmy says, "Well, I guess that would make me an Iowa State fan."

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Q: Where was O.J. hiding right before the famous white Bronco chase?

A: On the Iowa State University campus. That's the last place you would find a football player.

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Four college alumni were climbing a mountain one day: an Iowa State, an Iowa grad, a Florida grad, and a Notre Dame grad. Each proclaimed to be the most loyal of all fans at their alma mater.

As they climbed higher, they argued as to which one of them was the most loyal of all. They argued all the way up the mountain, and when they reached the top, the Notre Dame grad hurled himself off the mountain, shouting "This is for the Fighting Irish!" as he fell to his doom.

Not wanting to be out done, the Florida grad threw himself off the mountain proclaiming, "This is for the Gators!"

Seeing this, the Iowa grad walked over and shouted "This is for the Hawkeyes!" and pushed the Cyclones fan off the side of the mountain.

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One foggy night, an Iowa fan and an Iowa State fan were driving the opposite directions on a road near Iowa City. While crossing a narrow bridge, they hit each other head-on, mangling both cars.

The Iowa State fan manages to climb out of his car and survey the damage. He looks at his twisted car and says, "Man, I'm lucky to be alive!"

Likewise, the Hawkeye fan gets out of his car uninjured, he too feeling fortunate to have survived.

The Iowa State fan walks over to the Hawkeye fan and says, "Hey, man, I think this is a sign that we should put away our petty differences and live as friends instead of being rivals."

The Hawkeye fan thinks for a moment and says, "You know, you're absolutely right! We should be friends. In fact, I'm going to see if something else survived the wreck."

The Hawkeye fan then pops open his trunk and removes a full, undamaged bottle of Jack Daniel's. He says to the Cyclone fan, "I think this is another sign - we should toast to our newfound friendship." The Cyclone fan agrees and grabs the bottle. After sucking down half of the bottle, the Cyclone fan hands it back to the Hawkeye fan and says, "Your turn!"

The Hawkeye fan calmly twists the cap back on the bottle, throws the rest of the bottle over the bridge into the river and says, "Nah, I think I'll just wait for the cops to show up."

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Ames News Report: Football practice in Ames was delayed on Monday for nearly two hours. One of the offensive players, while on his way to the locker room, happened to look down and notice a suspicious looking, unknown, white powdery substance on the practice field. The head coach, Dan McCarney, immediately suspended practice while the FBI was called in to investigate. After a complete field analysis, the FBI determined that the white substance unknown to the players was the goal line. Practice was resumed when the FBI decided that the team would not be likely to encounter the substance again.

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A guy in a bar leans over to the guy next to him and says, "Wanna hear a good Iowa State joke?"

The guy next to him replies, "Well before you tell that joke, you should know something. I'm 6' tall, 200 lbs., and I am an Iowa State grad. The guy sitting next to me is 6' 2" tall, weighs 225, and he's an Iowa State grad. And the fella next to him is 6' 5" tall, weighs 250, and he's an Iowa State grad. Now, you still wanna tell that joke?"

The first guy says, "No, not if I'm gonna have to explain it three times."

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Answered prayer in the form of Golf!

When do you get to the point where you no longer want your parents to provide for you, but you want to repay your parents for all they've provided for you? I feel so blessed and fortunate to have grown up in the family that I have. My parents have made countless sacrifices to see that my life was one that was filled with joy and experience. From the many sporting events they've come to, the concerts they've driven me to (!!), the family time we've spent on vacations, the innumerable hours of help with homework, etc etc etc. I could go on and on. I've always prayed that I would be able to repay them somehow or make one of their dreams come true just as a simple thank you.

Well…. Though its not exactly how I thought it would go, I can say one of my prayers have been answered. Anybody who knows my dad knows what a huge golf fanatic he is and how The Masters is the ultimate golfing tournament. Its impossible to get tickets to the actual Masters Tournament (as its invite only). However, you can sign up to get tickets for the practice rounds but it’s on a lottery system. You send in all this info every year and then just wait!

When I moved out and went off to college, my dad asked me if I would start sending in my information (since you can only have 1 per household and I didn't live at home anymore). I gladly obliged. Well, as you're probably starting to assume, I got home from work yesterday and in the mailbox was a little letter for the Masters Tournament. I ran inside and ripped that letter open so fast I almost ripped the actual letter which stated that my name had been chosen for tickets! I couldn't believe it! I immediately called my dad! I think I was more excited then he was (even though he was super excited). Finally, my dad gets to go to the Masters!! As much as I would love to go along with him, he's going with his golfing crew and they're going to have the best time! Praise God is all I can really say, Praise God.

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

A conversation I had with TBone today...

Jill: I had to run to the bathroom right after church b/c obviously, I couldn’t go during the service
Laura: I guess you could have crawled to the bathroom - or taken your shoes off so no one heard you
Jill: i think neither of those options would have worked as we were in the 4th row. i would have needed an invisibility cloak.
Laura: You didn't bring yours? I take mine everywhere. And my cape. It has the Bat Girl symbol on it.
Jill: I let this kid named Harry Potter borrow mine and he never gave it back. i wonder whatever happened to him?
Laura: He's probably running around you in circles right now. Note to self: don't ever let Harry Potter borrow anything from me.

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

A Weekend of Browsing Des Moines with Great Friends




So, my good friends Rachel and Sarah came to visit this past weekend. It was a spur of the moment decision but one that I am happy about! I took them around much of the city and they got to experience a lot of what Des Moines has to offer. We ate at my favorite place: Centro, shopped around the East Village, hit up the Farmer's Market, went out for sushi, relaxed at Zanzibar, went for a walk at Gray's Lake, stopped by Java Joes for some live music by Andy Frasco, went to the DTC, hung out with friends, and pretty much laughed the entire weekend.



These are my TOP 5 moments from the weekend
5. Rachel "farting" in the car/Sarah's story about her eyelids being drunk
4. Our jumping pictures
3. The crazy Bat in the house
2. Praying for Johnny
1. Andy Frasco calling Rachel

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Watching the Olympics Advice

My good friend Sarah Bishop passed some important advice on to me today in regards to watching the Olympics. Read below:

1) Stay hydrated.

2) Tell yourself you only need four hours of sleep- really.

3) Wear sunglasses to hide your red eyes.

4) Crank up your iPod and listen to anything Michael Phelps does.

5) Skip work (you're never going to see an Olympics like this again anyway).

My personal favorite is definitely number 5 (and believe me, I've thought about it). Thanks for the great advice Sarah. I would just like to say one more time, WAY TO GO SHAWN JOHNSON!! We're all so proud!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

NEEDTOBREATHE


Here's an article I found about the band Needtobreathe. (click on the title "Needtobreathe" to go to the article) I just went to their concert and once again I was blown away! They are SO amazing. Their music is fantastic and they seem like truly humble and genuine guys. The best part is that they bolding proclaim that Jesus is their Lord, through their songs, their name, their demeanor. I can't wait for them to come back to town for another show! Seth, Bo, Bear, and Joe: thanks for the great show!



http://www.briomag.com/briomagazine/entertainment/a0006880.html (here's another link to the article. just copy/paste)

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

USA.... all the way!


So it's pretty clear that Michael Phelps dominates anything that involves swimming in water! He can do it all! It's obvious that when you think of what a swimmer should look like, he fits the profile exactly. I'd like to stand up next to him and compare our wing-span! My favorite part of swimming is when they do their flip turns and NBC gives us the under water view. They're like dolphins under there! I'm just amazed every single time. We're all cheering for Michael to get every Gold he can!!

I love the Olympics and I don't want them to end. Staying up to watch them is definitely something worth losing sleep over. Being from the USA, I naturally cheer for us but I find myself getting ticked off when we don't get Gold! I expect USA to win everything. It's a problem I'm learning to deal with (but if we'd just win everything then I wouldn't have a problem right?!) :)

That's not to say that I wasn't proud of what the Mens and Womens Gymnastics teams did. Sure there was a few missed opportunities but they really did perform well based on the circumstances. Hometown Girl Shawn Johnson really stepped it up and was solid through the whole thing. She really represented the USA proudly. I can't wait to watch her compete in the All Around. Every single person in Des Moines (and in Iowa for that matter) is so proud of her and is really rooting for her! It's so great to see. We Iowans don't have much to get excited for in the summer except Sweet Corn!



If you haven't been watching the Olympics, shame on you. Once every 4 years the Summer Games come around and it's the greatest excuse to plan parties, drop everything, and sit in front of the TV for about 5 hours straight!