Tired!

We are in Des Moines this weekend. We came to assist my parents with my niece and nephews. Not that my parents are not fully capable, because they are. They have been watching my sister's kids for a week while she is on vacation with her husband. My parents leave Monday morning for their own vacation so Brandon and I came to give them time to get things done before they go.
Caring for three kids who are five years old and under is exhausting. Josh, Jake, and Haley are really fun children who had us laughing all day! While we are both tired tonight, and it is only 10, we are so glad we came.

UPDATE:
It wasn't a matter of exhaustion it was a matter of infestation. Some little bug has infested Abe's body. I haven't seen her this ill in our entire marriage. By the time we got home last night, she was in a miserable state. Much of the same today. But I pray that she is on the mend now. I'm wondering if it's something about the DSM. Upon conclusion of our last visit there, we both came down with something. I sure hope not, because I LOVE THAT CITY.
--brandon

A new era has begun...

Could This Be True?

I was just reading the Readers Digest and I read a statistic that made me laugh.
"88% of female dog owners say their pet has at least one quality they would like to see in their significant other."
I would have to think really hard about a trait that Lucy has that I would want to see in Brandon. The only one I can think of is if he could wag his butt furiously every time I entered a room...yeah....that would be great.

Happy Belated Dad and Mom!

My parents turned 53 this last week. Not only do they share the same birthday, but they were born the same year. Usually, I send one card for them. That seemed cheap, so this year I sent my parents separate birthday cards. I also thought of this well in advance and knew that they would receive them on time, if not early! Well, thanks to the magnificent Chicago mail system only my Dad got his card. My mom's arrived later, or so I hope? So much for trying to be on top of things in '07.

They are a really amazing couple. I miss living close to them. Happy Birthday you two!

Budget???

What my wife has referred to as a "budget" is but a mere euphemism for the harsh reality that now faces me. What she has labeled a "budget" might more aptly be labeled a "spending freeze." You see, dear brothers and sisters, I have not eaten "out" in what is now somewhere close to a week and a half. Being a bourgeois epicurean, I take great delight in the finer things that one, of my standing, can afford (i.e. pizza, thai food, chipotle, popeye's, etc...). In my entire life, I have never (that I can recall or venture to estimate) gone this long without indulging my palate.

In my studies I can't help but relate my own struggle with that of a late-medieval serf (brandon) to his Lady (abbey). The time would be drawing nigh to a Peasants' Rebellion of my own, had I not learned that the rebellion was ruthlessly squelched by the nobility, reinstating their hold over their lessers. If history wasn't so prone to repeating itself, I might take a stand against my lording Lady and get myself a chicken wing or some Tom Yum, but alas I will bow to her strength and might.

Ramen!

We are on a budget. Brandon and I took a look at our finances over the weekend and made a budget that we will be following until May of 2008. We have made many previous attempts at budgeting, and failed miserably, but I am hopeful this one will work.

The student dining room does not serve dinner on Sundays. So, we went to the grocery store to find dinner. This was our first shopping trip with our new budget. The picture above is what we ended up with. 6 packages for $1.50! While I am almost sure there is NO nutritional value in ramen it tasted quite good. You can tell by Brandon's face the he is super happy about ramen (note sarcasm)!

First Day of School!

Brandon had his first day of class on Monday. We took a picture to remember the day. Since his first day of class he has been reading and reading......and reading. I believe that I may have lost my huband until sometime in May.

Holla!

It's been a while since I've posted on how things are going for me here in Chi-town. Abe told me I needed to start pulling my own weight around this blog. So here's 3 things to help get you up to speed.

1. Start class tomorrow -- eeeeeeeek, I'm nervous! Abe said she would take my picture on the stairs to commemorate my first day of school. I promised her that I would tight-roll my pants and possibly even wear a silk shirt for old-times-sake.

2. New MacBook -- It's pretty sweet. My plan will be (when it's all figured out) to record all of my lectures. This might also be the beginning of podcasting, maybe even video podcasting for yours truly.

3. New Music -- I've been hanging on to some iTunes gift cards since my going away party from Valley Church. So tonight I dropped 70 bones worth and got the following, in no particular order:

Damien Rice - 9
Over the Rhine - Drunkard's Prayer
Counting Crows - Recovering the Satellites
Seu Jorge - The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions
David Bazan - Fewer Moving Parts
Death Cab for Cutie - Plans
Pedro the Lion - The Only Reason I Feel Secure (***Contains their version of Be Thou My Vision--My favorite band of all time playing one of my favorite songs of all time!!)