Long Distance Church

I had the most amazing epiphany this morning at church. One of mine and Trae's most favorite things to do when we are together is going to church. Since we have been apart for some time, I can't even remember the last time we were at the same church for a service. This is terribly sad. The church that I am going to with my family in Mississippi is a very large church. It is very similar to the church Trae and I attend when we are together, but just not quite perfect. But for now, this church is feeding me and keeping me straight. By the time the sanctuary empties, the book store in the church already has the sermon on CD. Today I thought how nice it would be if I got the CD for Trae and sent it to him so that we could be hearing the same message and we could discuss it, just like we would if we were actually in the sanctuary at the same time. I am not sure what was keeping me from thinking of this before, it's not as if this is a complex solution. Oh well.

Dear MS Governor

I normally do not post about political issues or happenings. But there is one particular issue which I have been specifically disgusted and impatient with for about as long as I can remember. Growing up, I lived and went to school about 10 minutes from the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility. It is incredibly large with numerous buildings and the typical fences you would expect to find at a prison. The high school I went to was one of the smaller school systems in my district and there was no real town, therefore, no real city taxes dedicated to our small school. Our school was equipped with a full computer lab only in my sophomore year of high school. With the cinder block walls, cold temperatures were felt pretty quickly indoors. Of course there was always heat in the winter and a/c in the summer. Don't get me wrong. The obvious architectural and structural simplicities of my school had no effect on my academic success and I have no horror memories due to the building itself. Every time I would ride with my mom somewhere that required us to drive by the prison, I remember thinking that the prison looked much more kept up than my school. Sad.

I said all of that to tell you about what I read in our state newspaper this morning. We all know that many state governments are cutting budgets due to the economy. This morning in my state paper is an article about the most recent budget cuts our state governor has made. So far, the total cut tallies are as follows: K-12 Education- $195.3 M; Higher Education- $74.5 M; Department of Corrections- $26.6 M. So, total educations cuts come to $269.8 M. Total Dept. of Corrections cuts are $26.6 M. Does this strike anyone else as unbelievable, unacceptable, and just wrong? I do not know how much money is still in the budget for each department, however if cuts need to be taken, I find it ludicrous that education endures more cuts than our corrections department.

The article mentions that due to these cuts the governor is working with the department of corrections to prevent the prison system from having to release thousands of inmates. THOUSANDS!!! I'm sorry, was that a misprint? Release thousands of inmates, give our already struggling school system less money, and make it harder for young adults to go to college. This is a brilliant plan already (please note my heavy sarcasm).

Ever since I was that little girl wanting to tour the prison to see if it was nicer than my school, I have had the opinion that inmates should live in meager housing, grow their own food, and not get any real luxuries of the outside world that you and I enjoy. By luxuries, I mean they should not have access to television, magazines, gourmet meals, movies, plush beds, and cozy living conditions. Of course everyone should have access to clean, working toilet and shower facilities. However, working on a farm, with large amounts of manual labor full of tasks and goals is a much more appropriate and laborious than a day of watching TV, lifting weights, playing video games, playing games, or simply sitting in a cell. Perhaps if crops were grown on such a farm as this, they could be sold to the general public or soup kitchens or even given to the needy so that it benefits someone other than themselves and might even bring in a small profit. Wouldn't you feel that you had actually accomplished something with manual labor than just exercising and playing basketball all day? Would you think twice about committing a crime if you knew the punishment would be days on end of hard manual work outside with only the bare necessities? I just had to get that off my chest.

Traeisms

These are some of my favorite Trae Bane quotes.

1. "She carries my heart in her carry-on houndstooth bag." - When I left this January to come back to Mississippi to start this semester of school.

2. "Miss you more than I want to ski." - Today he said this. He has a ski trip planned in a few weeks, after which he is coming here. This is big, he loves to ski! He hasn't been skiing too much this year.

3. "I love you more than bacon!" - This boy loves bacon!! He eats it just about everyday!

He doesn't have to tell me these things. I know that he loves me more than bacon, and that I have his heart, and that he would rather be with me than skiing. But the way he says it to me in such an original way makes me melt. It is more special than the first time he told me he loves me when one of his special and unique sentiments finds its way to me. I am not creative enough to come up with one of these clever sayings. Oh well, he knows I need and love him too much to say.

Neuro/Kines Semester Week 1

This semester will be better than last semester, I hope. I am really praying that this semester is not any harder or time consuming than last semester. I think I will enjoy this one a little better. The 2 doozy classes are Neuroanatomy (anatomy of the brain and spinal cord) and kinesiology (study of body movement). Neuro will be the most difficult of the semester I think, but I am ready. I also have to read Charles Dickens' Great Expectations this semester! Not sure where I am going to fit that in! Trae has also enrolled in 12 hours of online classes! We will both be busy with classwork and reading this semester.

This week I have begun my serious getting in shape routine. Eating smaller portions, more often, less carbs, and more proteins with an exercise plan I found in the Women's Health Magazine. I am really feeling good and liking it so far. I am determined to stick with it all semester. I am in a wedding in March and Trae and I are having our first set of real professional pictures taken since our wedding taken in June. I am so very excited about the pictures. So these reasons are pushing me to stay committed to my get in shape kick!

Oh my...

I am in Mississippi again. I start my spring semester tomorrow at OT school. I am looking forward to seeing my friends tomorrow, however, yesterday and today were a little tough. I flew out of Sacramento yesterday afternoon and arrived in Jackson at 10 pm. I quilted in first class on my first flight just to try to get my mind off leaving Trae. It only delayed the inevitable cry fest. That happened this morning at church!! Perfect! But if you can't cry at church where can you cry? I was thinking about why it was so hard to leave Trae and be without him. Other than the really simple explanation of being his wife and really really enjoying being with him. I was thinking about more specifically what makes me so sad. I am pretty sure it has something to do with the fact that we are soul mates. Because he is my match, my half, my partner, the person that completes my sentences, my thoughts and can anticipate my actions. We can look at each other from across the room in different conversations and I know what he is thinking and he can do the same. Why would my heart and soul not be sad not to be physically with him every day? I guess I just needed to air that out.

RTR!!!

Today is the day Alabama plays for their 13th NCAA Football National Championship and I couldn't be more excited!!! I love this game and Bama! ESPN will be on all day in the background as I await Trae's arrival home from work and make delicious goodies to eat during the game. In honor of their achievements so far, I will let you all know the words to our fight song, they one that is played after every touchdown!

Yea Alabama!
Drown 'em Tide, every football fan's behind you, hit your stride.
Go teach the Bulldogs to behave.
Send the Yellow Jackets to a watery grave.
And if a man starts to weaken, that's a shame,
'Cause Bama's pluck and grit have writ her name in Crimson Flame.
Fight on, fight on, fight on men, remember the Rose Bowl, we'll win then. SO!
Roll on to victory hit your stride, you're Dixie's football pride Crimson Tide!
ROLL TIDE! ROLL TIDE!!

Trader Joe's, Oh How I Love Thee!

One of the things that I enjoy most about coming to California is the abundance of Trader Joe's stores. There is one only about 15 miles from the town Trae is in. For my Mississippi friends who may not be familiar with Trader Joe's, because the closest one is in Atlanta, Trader Joe's is a wonderful place. It makes me smile just walking in the front door. It is a grocery store, basically, a lot like Whole Foods. But you will not find many items made by a popular or well known brand. Instead, they sell Trader Joe's brand of EVERYTHING! Meat, produce, bread, baking needs, frozen veggies, canned veggies, frozen pizzas, desserts, chips, cereal, cookies, dairy, spices, and just about every other item you could possible imagine, only there is one brand to choose from. But don't be alarmed that if you shop here, there is a limited variety, oh no! Trader Joe's brand is the most delicious brand I have tried in numerous food varieties. They have my favorite cereal, granola, cookies, bread, frozen veggies, frozen desserts, pita chips, spices, boxed macaroni and cheese, and wine.

Last time I went, I got a box of frozen chocolate croissants. I thought, these will be good for breakfast. The box instructs you to let proof and rise for 9 hours or overnight. I was a little disappointed that it would take that long, but the disappointment soon faded when I took a bite of that big beautiful croissant. It was delicious. It very well could have come from a pastry shop where they make croissants by hand everyday. You know how some frozen foods come out of the oven or pot and they just don't really taste fresh? They don't taste bad, they just don't taste fresh? Well this is not like that at all. These croissants were delicious!!! Fresh, buttery and flaky. The 9 hour wait is definitely worth it, and I would definitely serve them if I had company over. They were impressive.

Probably what I love most about Trader Joe's is that the prices are so reasonable, actually, cheap! Inside and outside the store are some clever and very cute hand written signs about specials and certain products. All the employees wear shirts that have some kind of Hawaiian design on them. They are always nice and helpful. I am trying to figure out how to get a bunch of my staples back to Mississippi when I leave California this time. My mom is also a Trader Joe fan. There are a few staples that she only likes from there. I definitely am going on Friday with my granola, pita chips, and some cookies on my list to make it back to Mississippi. I may have to buy an insulated bag so I can get my frozen croissants back home! I have written TJ's to inquire why there isn't one in MS yet. I have not gotten a response, but maybe one day there will be one in the Jackson area. I miss it when I am not here in California.

Mt. Shasta

Trae and I have taken a road trip. We are in Northern California in a town called Yreka. I must comment that despite the surface friendly people we have encountered, there is something amiss here. We both just have a funny feeling about this town. Not sure what it is but oh well. The area is beautiful. It is just outside of a National Forest where Mt. Shasta is. It is a beautiful volcano covered in snow. Tomorrow we will leave here and head back down south via the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). We came to Yreka to check out a truck Trae is looking at purchasing. We figured it was a good excuse to see another part of the state we have not been to.

I have been a busy little bee trying to finish the quilting on my quilt while I have been here. Just last night I got done with one section and thought I only had one more section left to go and then I can start the binding! Well little did I know I have 4 more sections left! Hopefully I can get most of it done before I leave.

For all of the displaced Southerners out there. Polenta can be substituted for grits when necessary. Just add more liquid!! It won't be exactly the same, but it will do in a pinch!