No worries . . .

. . . I'm still alive!

This blogging thing is fun but it sure takes time and energy. Oddly, I've had an abundance of both recently, but get preoccupied. Here's what I've been up to:

*My brother and his family came to visit two weeks ago. Eric is a free-lance photographer and he was hired to shoot a convention in town. He brought along wife Brandi and their three children. Brandi's mom also came down since it was her weekend to visit them. Needless to say we had a very full house. We had a very loud house as well.
Brandi stayed in town with Eric one night, so mom and I took the kids home. Mom has no night vision so I had to drive home. As I was strapping the boys in mom just had to say, "You know there are people your age who would have this number of kids already." I just shot her a dirty look and said I know and that's crazy.
While we were in town we took the boys on a boat ride in the river. It was pricey, but they had a lot of fun. Daniel, age 3, doesn't speak much. Let me rephrase that: he talks a lot, you just can't understand half of what he says. When we first took off his eyes got real big and he held onto his chair and cried, "Wheeee." It was cute.

*The weekend after my brother's visit we headed over to Houston. We had a ghetto garage sale in my grandma's ghetto neighborhood. Seriously. If I didn't practically grow up in that neighborhood I wouldn't want to go there. Last month there was a police raid on the house across the street. And by the looks of things, there are still some dodgey dealings going on over there.
We were in Houston for a week. Once again I found myself cramped in a small house with five other family members. I can't wait until we move! However, we didn't even get to look at any houses while we were in town. That was frustrating because I can only do so much since my parents are the ones in charge.
I did visit a church that wasn't half bad. It's in Pasadena and is pastored by someone we grew up with. It's a multi-cultural, Baptist-affiliated-but-has-a-non-denominational-feel church. I liked it more than I thought I would. I love the pastor, Sammy, and his wife, Julie, especially since I've known Sammy for nearly 15 years. My friend Elena and I had dinner with them the night before and it was loads of fun. I still want to check out a few other churches. I feel there would be a lot pressure if I went to Sammy's church since so many of the members know my family.

*I'm finally applying for jobs!!! Well, I'm at least working on an application. Elena is living with her cousin who is the head kindergarten teacher at her school. Apparently they have a few openings for teachers next year and the school district is the only district in the region that pays for the alternative certification program. The drawbacks: 1.)The deadline is December 3rd - that's only 10 days away! And I haven't even taken my TASP since Baylor's a private university. 2.)It's Pasadena ISD which is nowhere near where we might be living. We're talking about a two hour total commute everyday! 3.)There's tough competition and I'm not completely prepared to compete.
I'm hoping this is the door I've been praying for God to open. Starting salary is $37,000!! For a teacher! I'll have to sign a three year contract, which will be tough considering I had planned to return to England by June of '06. But it may be good in the long run because that will prevent me from running off before I've done all I can to get debt free. Damn student loans! Damn credit cards!

*I saw the new Bridget Jones movie Friday! I know, I know, a good Christian girl shouldn't be watching such smut, but I've been waiting for this movie for over a year and a half! My roommate, Kelley, introduced me to the first Bridget Jones movie two years ago. I remember when it came out in the theater I didn't think I would ever watch it. It just looked bad. I was such a prude! I felt an immediate affinity to Bridget upon my indoctrination. I am Bridget! Well, except for the fact that I'm not a chain-smoking, nymphomanical alcoholic.
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason wasn't as great as the first. The soundtrack wasn't as memorable, for one. You can't beat Bridget lonely, depressed and drunk singing All by Myself or the famous fight between Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) and Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) while the techno version of It's Raining Men plays in the background. They're such wonderfully ignoble fighters. It's fun when their paths cross again in The Edge of Reason. The only thing I like about the musical choice for the movie was that they played Beyonce's Crazy in Love. That was very appropriate for Bridget because she was not only in love, she was CRAZY!
Since I read the book, I kept comparing it to the movie. Without the book, the movie is great for Bridget fans. But there are such wonderful story lines in the book! Mr. Darcy's 22 year-old stick insect co-worker doesn't play the role you expect her to. The way that story line is resolved in the movie was interesting, to say the least. Surprisingly interesting. Of course, not like the literary version at all!
Bridget's circle of friends also play a bigger role in Fielding's books. The girls have a falling out when Jude takes back her loser boyfriend, Richard, and agrees to marry him.
I guess what I like best about the books is that they mirror Jane Austen novels. I knew the first one was loosely based on Pride and Prejudice, but it was fun discovering Beyond the Edge of Reason's connection to Persuasion, especially since I finished reading it just two days before I read BtEoR. So it's disappointing wanting to see that parallel portrayed on the big screen and it not be there.
Anywho, didn't mean for this post to turn into a movie review of Bridget Jones. Sorry. But I would recommend that you Bridget fans watch the movie to discover Bridget and Mark's fate.
The funniest thing about my Bridget movie experience was that I was carded when I bought my ticket! What's even funnier was I didn't realize I had been carded until I was driving home! As I bought my ticket my friend Jessica called and I was telling her how to get to the movie theater. When the lady asked for my ID I assumed she wanted my student ID (I know, it's horrible that I still use it even though I'm not a student!). When she asked for my license I pulled it out without a second thought. Silly Debbie! I don't know if I should be offended or flattered that the woman thought I wasn't even 18. Since I'm not flat out offended is evidence that I'm getting old. Oi! What's crazy is I think the girl who sold me my ticket was younger than me!

*It's time for this post to end. And I must go pack. Back to Waco and another house full of family members for Turkey Day. Yay! Mmmm...I made my famous Honey Bread today. It takes four hours to prepare, but it's well worth the wait. I haven't had homemade bread in AGES! My parents and I nearly polished off a loaf tonight. Luckily, we have two more loaves for Thursday. Mmmm...