two weeks later

I realized this morning that I haven't posted anything in two weeks. Here are some of the things keeping me busy, in (roughly) chronological order:

1. Working through my next Book Review Blogger book--Faith and Pop Culture (Christianity Today Study Series). This is meant to be done as a group Bible study, and I'm working my way through each chapter before writing my review. So far, I'm really enjoying it, and I'd love to do it in a small group setting.
2. Finishing the school year . . . and (sort of) completing the yearbook. I sent off the last pages, and I'll get proofs back in a few weeks. Then I'll need to make all the final corrections; I'll probably need to do a lot of work because I got so sick of staring at pages that I just quit proofing!
3. Seeing Wicked in Omaha! My mom, sisters, sister-in-law, and I all went together. It was amazing! I didn't take many pictures, but here's one of Susan, Steph, me, and Val in front of the sign (Susan and Steph didn't know they were in the pic):
   
4. Admiring the beauty around me. On the way to Lincoln to pick up SIL Susan for Wicked, we came through a crazy rain storm. Just as we got through the storm, we got our first view of the capitol building . . . and it was positively glowing! This picture doesn't quite do it justice--it was beautiful!
   
5. Cooking with my sisters. We attempted to make a "real" dinner one night last week. (By "real," I mean something that required a recipe, not one of our old standbys that we learned to make from Mom. I'm not saying her food isn't real, but it's not very adventurous.) We made Rachael Ray's Garlic & Oil Spaghetti with Greens, with a few modifications. Seems the local Hy-Vee doesn't carry swiss chard or scallions, so we substituted arugula. As I don't normally eat greens (ever), I have no idea if swiss chard and arugula are even remotely similar . . . but I know they're both green! Here are the results:
   
6. Hanging out with friends. A bunch of us got together to say farewell to Tricia, who is moving to Lincoln to go to UNL. We went to Carlos O'Kelley's (the greatest Mexican chain restaurant!), watched a movie, and just had fun being together.
7. Killing my African Violet. I'm not sure how it survived the Great Plant Holocaust of 2008, but I managed to keep it alive for over a year. Take a look at the "then" and "now" pics:
   
   I already have its replacement, a Sansevieria. Supposedly, it requires little light or water . . . so hopefully I won't kill it!
8. Taking some time off work. I realized at the end of last week that I still had five vacation days left, to be used by the end of June. So, I took last Friday and this morning off. Yay for vacation time!