On the road again…

We’re back in Tejas now, passing through Beaumont on our way back to Houston.

Today we had a true taste of the Louisiana experience! Fresh boiled crawfish, corn, potatoes, boudin balls, chicken and sausage gumbo, fried catfish and crawfish etouffee. Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is, just thinking about it all again! We picked up this feast with my Dad at Tony’s Seafood, and even managed to walk out with some frozen goodies. That means we’ll get to enjoy a few more Cajun treats sometime down the road. Tony’s has their seafood down to an art form!

Hard to say good-bye to my fam, but we really had a great weekend with them. Walking with Mom, LSU sports, great food, shopping, watching Mike the Tiger, seeing IBC folks, crawfish – a complete weekend!

More about the trip and some fun pictures to come!

-Laura

Twitter Discoveries

I just found a few interesting links on Twitter, so I thought I’d share…

http://twitter.com/LSUsports

http://twitter.com/LSUCoachMiles

http://twitter.com/LSUCoachStarkey

Just a little love for our Tigers!

We’re just about to head off to San Antonio with our Middle School choir. Keep your fingers crossed for no rain tomorrow, or else our Six Flags trip will be ruined!

-Laura

Not much time…

Just a quick post to make sure we don’t bore all of our loyal blog followers. The last couple of weeks have been busy with a trip to Baton Rouge for Istrouma’s Disciple Now weekend, followed by the TBC golf tournament raising money for the mission trip and then a fun trip to Dallas to see friends and see the city.

Pictures from all these things are coming soon, promise! Hopefully I can post before this weekend gets here. Between the 9th graders coming over, another mission meeting and the Final Four, we’ll be busy again! 

Speaking of the Final Four, I’m really excited about the women’s bracket this year. Although LSU’s young team lost in the second round, (and despite the fact that our Texas cable company showed the Baylor and Oklahoma games instead of LSU!!!) the tournament has still held my attention. I’m rooting for Oklahoma in the finals, but they’ll have a tough time against an undefeated and completely amazing UConn. Ugh, sometimes you really have to hate Geno Auriemma!

More to come soon!

-Laura

A little narcissism

There is a trend going around on Facebook right now of people posting their “25 Things About Me.” I have been tagged in a number of these and I’ve actually enjoyed reading several of them, so I figured I would give it a shot.

I actually started this about two weeks ago and then forgot about it, so maybe the first thing on my list should be that I have a short attention span… Even though I technically finished it a few days ago, I decided to add some pictures before posting. Enjoy!

25 Things About Laura

1. I am secretly a “tween” simply posing as a mid-20’s gal. I guess that’s why I get along so well with 6^th, 7^th and 8^th graders!

2. I love all things Hannah Montana/ Miley Cyrus. Yes, I’ve even seen her in concert! My newest “tween” fixation – Selena Gomez. She’s adorable!

 3. I love middle school students. Not in a creepy stalker way, but in a “you’re so cool because you’re so awkward, but awesome and you don’t even know it” kind of way. Working with these students and helping them find their identity in Christ excites me!

 4. Micah and I have known each other since I was in 7^thgrade! We grew up in the same church youth group, but didn’t start dating until college. I always remind our students that they never know who they could fall in love with one day. (The usual response to that is a collective “EWWWWW!”)

 5. Two years ago I was a horrible “texter,” but my text messaging skills have evolved. My girls in Baton Rouge supplied me with a list of “text translations,” so I now know what “g2g,” “BTW” and “OMG” mean (got to go, by the way, omigosh). This form of communication has forced me to loosen up on my obsession with grammar and punctuation, allowing me to write “casual” text messages and blog posts with plenty of ellipses…

 6. I am usually a grammar nazi (code name: Grammar Girl), and often quote AP (Associate Press) Style rules as I’m reading or writing. For instance, I just double checked myself on the use of CapitAl vs. CapitOl (only an “o” when referring to the building!) for #8. So I guess that really makes me an AP Style nazi (that’s what journalists and PR people use).

 7. I can tell you the history of the city of Baton Rouge in detail off the top of my head. It comes from years of writing and re-writing the story for press kits, magazines, web sites, etc.

 8. I worked for the Baton Rouge CVB (travel and tourism) for 3 years, making me passionate about all things in the Capital City. It has also turned me into a well-informed traveler, reading tour books and web reviews before we go anywhere.

 9. I am completely passionate about all things LSU!

 10. I almost didn’t attend LSU… I was VERY close to choosing Auburn University (gasp!). Can you believe I was almost a Plainsman/War Eagle/Tiger??

 11. I can’t wait for LSU football season to start again!

 12. I know more than the average female bear about college football. I credit this to my love for LSU, my “College Gameday” watching husband and my roommate freshman year of college, Kerri.

 13. I pretty much hate watching baseball on TV. Watching live is fun, but a 4-hour game on TV where each team only scores 2 to 6 runs? No thanks. I also chalk this one up to Kerri, who made me watch EVERY Atlanta Braves game on our 13-inch TV in the dorm years ago.

 14. I love epic hour-long TV shows, such as LOST, Heroes and 24. Thank God for DVR, since two of these air at the same time, and the other airs Wednesday nights during youth activities!

 15. DVR is probably the greatest invention of my lifetime! Other shows scheduled to record: Top Chef, The Hills, The Rachel Zoe Project, The City, Divine Design, Smallville, Ugly Betty, Ace of Cakes, The Office, Hannah Montana, Project Runway, How I Met Your Mother and The Biggest Loser. Oh, and any sports show that could have SEC football “season previews!” Many of these shows aren’t airing new episodes right now, but we’re set to record whenever they do!

 16. I love to write (can’t you tell?).

 17. I lived in Jamaica for 2.5 years of my life… but I don’t remember anything because it was the first2.5 years of my life. However, I have been back to JA with my family and on a mission trip. I have great memories from these trips!

 18. I hope to one day live in a place that actually has hills…And houses that have basements.

 19. I loved American Girl dolls as a kid, but was never allowed to have one. I think it’s because I ripped the heads off all my Barbies… I still read all the books, though, and I still secretly pine for a Samantha doll!  

 20. My biggest fear is not being able to have children.

 21. My second biggest fear is actually giving birth to a child!

 22. I love oldies music with a passion! At any given moment, I might just belt out a little diddy by the Temptations, Four Seasons, Peter, Paul & Mary, Diana Ross, etc.

 23. I have always loved Billy Joel music. It reminds me of my Dad whistling along with the songs on long road trips in our Ford Aerostar “minivan.” (I’m not too sure if that thing would still qualify as a minivan, though. It was roughly the size of today’s Ford Excursions or GMC Envoy XL!)  

 24. I can’t help but love pop music. Currently, I am singing Beyonce’s “Single Ladies.” I have even seen the ultimate 90’s pop group, N*SYNC, in concert.

 25. I once bit into a metal ball on a cookie. It messed up my tooth and cost us a lot of money in dental bills. Why was that metal ball on a cookie? I still can’t answer that…

Auld Lang Syne

Happy New Year everyone! And, of course, Geaux Tigers!

We are having a happy, peaceful New Year’s at home, just the two of us. I know, I know – party animals. Ha ha! But we wanted to settle in and enjoy ourselves after traveling for Christmas. Plus, what more entertainment do we need if the Tigers are playing in a bowl game?

Yes, our Tigers are currently dominating in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. Despite the fact that they are basically playing on a home field, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets aren’t looking too good. On the other hand, our boy Jordan Jefferson is looking amazing! It might have taken all season, but it looks like the Tigers have found their quarterback.

Our annual New Year’s Eve ritual is usually to pack in as much “24″ as possible. Jack Bauer has helped us ring in 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005 and maybe even 2004. (Like I said, we’re real party animals!) But this year, there is no new season of the show to watch on DVD. I guess we’ll have to settle for an LSU blowout, the sounds of our neighbor’s fireworks, the delicious steaks Micah just grilled and maybe some old episodes of “Friends.” It may not sound like much, but it sure makes me happy!!!

Hope you all have a very happy and safe New Year celebration, no matter what you do!!!!!

-Laura

Baton Rouge Homecoming

This past weekend Laura and I had a chance to visit Baton Rouge and enjoy some wonderful hometown festivities.  On Friday night, we went to Laura’s alma mater, Dunham, for their homecoming football game.  While we were there we saw all kinds of old friends and former students from Istrouma.  It was awesome!  The game had a pretty exciting end too.  Let’s just say the opposing coach stormed the field DURING the last play of the game celebrating his team’s win.  It ended with him spiking his clipboard at midfield.  can you say classy?  Anyway, we had a great time at the game and even had a mini photo shoot as you can see.

On Saturday, we were able to get tickets to the LSU-Tulane game with our friends, Acy and Christian.  Luckily, our Tigers pulled it out and can now focus on hosting Nick Saban and #1 Alabama this Saturday.  It should be a heated game.  Anyway, we had pretty good seats for the Tulane game.  We were in the south endzone.  Geaux Tigers!

-Micah

Truth to the rumors

We’re headed to Baton Rouge next weekend – the rumors are true! We’ll be driving in to see family and friends late next Thursday. One stop while we’re in will be the Dunham homecoming game, where we’ll hopefully get to see some fellow alumni… and our Istrouma students!!!! I can’t believe how many of my old IBC small group girls AND St. Luke’s basketball girls are now FRESHMEN at Dunham! Crazy.

 (all except Lauren!)

We can’t wait to see everybody while we’re in town. And who knows? Maybe we’ll even get a chance to go to the LSU game!

Speaking of LSU, big game against Georgia tomorrow! Fingers crossed for our Fighting Tigers. Despite a high pre-season ranking, UGA has proved to be a bit overrated… but then again, LSU’s defense hasn’t been looking too hot lately. Tune in at 2:30 and sport your purple and gold!!

-Laura

The Tiger Bowl

After a rough week of hurricane cleanup, we will be rewarded tonight with a classic SEC matchup:  LSU vs. Auburn.  It is at 6:45 on ESPN, so be sure to watch if for some reason you were unaware it is on.  This is always a classic matchup with lots of history: the Earthquake Game, the Burning Barn, the Extra Point fiasco of ‘04, the Blown Call in ‘06, and of course, the Catch from last year.  This matchup is intriguing recently too because the loser never goes to the SEC Championship Game and the home team has won the past 8 years.  We hope this year we can change that trend and win in Auburn. 

Charles Scott and Trindon Holliday should help us win this year!

 

Hope you enjoy the game, but before you do, here is a look at some of the great moments from the past!

(The Earthquake Game… this is the TD catch that caused the LSU crowd to cheer and set off the seismograph on campus)

(The pass interference call that was never made in ‘06.  Refs claimed the ball was tipped but it wasn’t.  If it’s not tipped, you can’t take out the receiver like you can clearly see Auburn’s cornerback doing here.)

(Demetrius Byrd’s amazing TD catch with :01 second left on the clock.  Great play from last year!)

-Micah

Live in the Now!

The past few weeks have been crazy with all kinds of things going on.  From a trip to Baton Rouge and fleeing from Gustav to hunkering down in Houston because of Ike, we have kept busy!  In the middle of the storms, Laura and I got to go to the LSU opener against Appalachain State, test drive her dad’s new car, become the caretakers of my grandma’s cat, and help some of the widows at Tallowood clean up their yards after Ike.  So here are a few pics to bring you up to speed.  (For info and pics from the yard clean up, go to www.tallohoodtoday.com ) 

     (Our view from the game.  Thanks for the tickets Mr. Don!)

  (We were decked out in our LSU game gear!)

(Driving around in Mr. Ed’s car.  A sweet Honda S2000)

(Dusty, our adopted cat, watching the hurricane come through.)

I was also very excited to update my bumper stickers on my Blazer and to add an LSU sticker to Laura’s car.  This has been a long time coming!

 (Blazer before with a faded LSU tiger eye up top and a Last Chance Dave sticker in the bottom right corner.  Goodbye to my old, college band days.)

(Notice the new LSU, Fleur-de-lis sticker!)

                                              (Laura got a new sticker too!)

Well, that’s all for now!

-Micah

yIKEs

What a day!  I woke up this morning with the stark realization that a giant hurricane is heading our way.  This required several immediate actions from me.

1.  I had to cancel the 8th grade dinner we were having on Friday night for our new 8th grade class at Tallowood.  We sent emails and phone trees and even updated our blog.

2.  I had to venture out to the store to buy food and supplies.  So, I went to the local H-E-B to get gas, water, hurricane type food, and a few other essentials.  There was quite a line at the H-E-B gas station so I decided to pass on the gas and I went inside.  And what a sight that was!  Soccer moms everywhere!  I went to work quickly getting apples, Wheat Thins, water, chips, Chef Boyardee (you can eat it cold!), cereal (you can eat that without milk!), Gatorade, hot dogs and chicken (I can grill them up if we lose power!).  After I filled my basket, I made my way to the front of the store to get in a line. That was a problem though because all the lines were stretched down the aisles.  So I found the shortest line I saw and… 40 minutes later I was heading to the car.  This may sound like a long time to wait to checkout, but it was kinda therapeutic.  These days I don’t get much time alone with my thoughts, so this was a nice slow-paced change from my normal runing around craziness!

3.  I had to move my grill (with its LSU cover) from the back yard all the way around the house and into the garage.  I can’t risk having that damaged from the strong winds of Hurricane Ike.  Thanks for the help Laura!

And as far as hurricane’s go, I’m starting to get a bit of a complex.  Laura and I were in Baton Rouge right before Gustav, but before it hit, we hit the road for Houston and escaped the carnage.  And somehow in the evacuation, we managed to gain a cat from my grandma in Lake Charles.  We took in her cat, Dusty, so she could evacuate for Arkansas.  All that to say that it seems hurricanes are follwing us!  Or wait… maybe it is Dusty.  Either way, we’re in trouble because this hurricane is HUGE and heading straight for Houston.  But as one of our friends, Stephanie, said on Facebook, “our God is huge-r!”

One last thing.  My dad and I were talking earlier today and is it bad that we agreed our biggest concern about the hurricane was that we can no longer watch the LSU game on TV?  In Houston it is only available on Pay-Per-View (ESPN Gameplan).  Oh well.  Hopefully we’ll have power Saurday night and we can keep up with the score somehow. 

Well, that’s all for now.  Be safe!

-Micah