Updates and Pictures

Thank you all for praying for Xavier. He had a little improvement yesterday so please keep the prayers coming. You can read all about his journey on Amanda and Buddy's blog. Thanks again.

I received notification this morning that although I was qualified for the museum position I really desired, I was not among the highest qualified candidates so my application was not referred to the library and museum. I am disappointed, mainly because this was the only position in Austin that was remotely close to my interests. Now I will have to settle for some job I'm not excited about and could care a less about. That's the kind of job you want to go to every day. I knew with this position I would be excited every day because I'd be learning something new and something I wanted to learn and it would help me in the long run. Man, I'm going to need some prayer in this department.

Also, I posted pictures from some recent adventures: Roger's niece Ariana's 3rd birthday party, my newest niece Chloe Grace, my nephew William's recent visit and I'm working on the Hawaii pictures. I'll let you know when those are done. They'll take a while. Enjoy!

Prayer Request

Please pray for our friends Amanda and Buddy's four month old son Xavier. He received vaccinations on Monday and became lethargic. He is now in intensive care on a respirator. Please keep him in your prayers.

http://buddyandamanda.blogspot.com/

Restaurant Recommendations

Last Friday night, Roger, his sister Cindy and I intended to go see the new Indiana Jones movie at Alamo Drafthouse. We arrived 50 minutes early and it was already sold out. We know people who have bought tickets online a week in advance so we should have known better. Since we intended to eat dinner there, not only were our entertainment plans busted but so were our dinner plans. After thinking for a bit and driving around the area of the Alamo Drafthouse Village location, we remembered a restaurant we were going to try with Cindy the week before, Mesa Ranch. Since we weren’t far from it, we decided to go check it out. Roger looked up the address online with his cell phone and was able to call and get us a reservation in fifteen minutes. Oh technology! The atmosphere was great, except for air conditioning trouble which made it a bit hot. Our waiter was awesome and sweaty. And the food was amazing! We all tried each other’s dishes because we kept raving about them. I had venison, Roger had duck and Cindy had a steak. Everything was delicious. It was hard for us to decide what to order. The seafood selection sounded great also. We will definitely be back there. Hopefully the air conditioning will be under control. But I highly recommend it. We continued to rave about the food, the atmosphere and the experience despite the heat the rest of the night.

Tonight we went to Hyde Park Grill's south location for a going away dinner for one of Roger's co-workers. It was amazing also. The food was to die for and our server Jenny was fabulous. We started with a small group and it kept growing and she handled us well. I'm sure she got a great tip because we all loved her. We had a really good time. I know we'll be going back again. I've never been to the original location, but I hear it's one of those hundred year old houses in central Austin so I'm sure this location was completely different as it was modern and hip. Roger's co-workers were really nice, a lot of fun and super entertaining. I love it when people entertain me. :)

Roger's New Doctors

Roger and I made it to Brook Army Medical Center this morning to meet his new radiation-oncologist and neurologist. We had very good appointments with both and learned a little more information from Roger's new neurologist who happens to be the chief of neurology and the TDRL neurologist. It was very peaceful to learn more about the temporary disabled retirement process which Roger will have to endure for another five years. Both are great doctors and we are very happy to have been assigned to them. Roger gave blood for his levels to be checked since his anti-seizure meds can affect liver enzymes and sodium greatly. He also scheduled his next MRI for July 1st. The labs and scans will establish a base line for his new doctors there even though they have access to all his previous records. Thank goodness military medical is all connected. It is kind of surprising though. We made a pit stop in San Marcos to wish Roger's sister Cathy happy birthday while she dined with Roger's parents. We had a good morning and Roger went back to work in the afternoon to ice cream sundaes and a going away happy hour. He's really liking his new job. :) As for Roger's physical therapy consultation on Monday, the therapist can tell he has more work to do. They figured some things out that he specifically needs to work on and will start doing physical therapy two days a week plus home exercises. And I'm going to help him work on his endurance with cardio like bicycling, walking and yoga. I'm trying to turn him into a yogi.

Land of Yahweh

Is it just me or does it seem like all the crazy people are in Texas? I'm sure there are plenty of people who would argue their state has plenty of crazies, but every time I hear news about someone doing something crazy I think "I bet they're in Texas." And yep, they usually are. I was sent the link to this ABC article about a doomsday "prophet" named Yisrayl "Buffalo Bill" Hawkins who is predicting the end of the world will begin this Thursday. He has a 44 acre compound in Abilene, Texas. When I hear about people like this I wonder how in the world they convince people to believe them and get followers. For me, after David Koresh and Waco, when I hear the word "compound" I get nervous. If someone invited me to come visit their compound, I would run in the opposite direction. I love how he says only those named Hawkins will be saved. You think that would have been the first sign he was a kook. I don't remember ever reading that in the Bible. And he predicted the end of the world two years ago but keeps telling people to give him a "couple more years." Geez, people! I wish I knew the story behind his nickname, Buffalo Bill. I can only imagine.

New Week

Well, I just got home from swimming at the neighborhood pool. Lap swimming is from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. Monday through Friday. I'm going to try to swim at least three days a week. The neighborhood pool is less than a mile from our house. I drove this morning but plan to ride my bike from now on. I have to fix the flat I got at the triathlon last month which is funny since the cycling portion of the triathlon was canceled. Somehow I got a flat while my bike was in the back of the truck. Anyway, the neighborhood pool isn't great, but it's better than nothing or having to go farther. I was the only person there at 7:00 a.m. and no one else showed up until kid's started to gather around 8:00 a.m. for swim lessons. Hopefully the word doesn't get out since they only have one lap lane. And the lifeguards are really nice. My only experience at the neighborhood pool is during the summer full of kids and it's crazy. So it was really weird to have the pool all to myself. But I'll take it. I didn't do my whole workout, but close and it won't take me long to get back into shape. Now I'm off to shower, work a little and then run some errands. I love grocery shopping during the middle of the day during the week. Stores are empty. It's great. Oh wait, public school ended last week. Well, hopefully it won't be too bad. I bet Roger's commute this morning was really fast. He has a physical therapy consultation this afternoon. I'm very happy about that. Hopefully they give him a bunch of exercises to do. We planned to put regular pedals on his bike this weekend and go for a ride, but we got distracted with house stuff. But we'll get them on soon. And Wednesday he has his first appointments with his new neurologist and radiation-oncologist at Brooks Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio. Since we are so close to IH-35, it's a very easy drive to BAMC. Roger is going to keep those specialists in the Army so all his records are in the system and when he has his re-evaluation August of 2009 all his records of care are in the system for the board. I'll let you know how his physical therapy consult goes today.

Wow!

Wow, I can't believe we haven't posted in so long. Holy cow, time is flying by fast. That's what happens when you get back to normal. Although I'm still working from home part time, we're pretty much back to normal. Once I get a full time position, we'll really be back to normal. As in Roger will go back to doing his share of the duties around the house. It has been nice to be home still. We have spent a lot of awesome, quality time together because when he gets home from work, there's nothing for us to do but spend time together because I already did everything during the day. I wish I could continue this lifestyle, but we both really miss my full time salary. So I started the job search this week. I found my dream job and applied for it Thursday. Please pray that if it's the Lord's will for me to get this job for all the doors to be opened. Roger is really enjoying his job except for being really tired from working 8-10 hours a day. He hasn't worked that schedule in over two years. We're trying really hard to get as much rest as possible. We recently got new windows on our house and we love them. I primed and painted the front window trim this week, but am waiting on the others until we get more trim around them. We are also painting a wall in our spare bedroom, once we finally decide on a color, and we are finally finishing the drywall repair from our plumbing work a few months ago. There are pictures of the new windows at the Flickr link to the right and some other new pictures. No, we haven't posted the pictures from Hawaii yet. I don't know why, just pure laziness. Okay, going to watch a movie then hit the sack. Good night.