Book Club

Just wanted to share that I joined a book club recently and it completly rocks. I had wanted to be part of one for a while, but just had not found one that worked until now. I have met new, interesting, intellegent people that I really enjoy hanging out with. It is just refreshing to meet new and interesteing people. I am glad I found them.
Today we talked about Wicked. Kelly made a gingerbread house with the Wicked Witch of the East's feet underneath it. It rocked.

Scrapbook Design Team

Evidently, scrapbook stores and scrapbook clubs have design team members that rotate. You send in pages or altered items for people to see and be inspired from, write articles for newsletters, give advice to other scrappers, create scrapbook challenges, etc. Anyway, I belong to the Kit n Kaboodles Scrapbook Club and decided to apply to be on their design team. I should know by next week.

http://www.knkclub.com/

comment section now works

The comments are now working on my blog. Test it out to make sure. Send a comment today.

Cutest Kid ever!

Today was the Kickoff for Latino Heritage month. A Folklorico group came out. Before they started dancing, their was this little guy dancing to the rhythm on the stage.
So cute!

WTF

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,20349534-952,00.htmlhttp://beta.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifIrwin


THE Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, is dead. He was killed in a freak accident in Cairns, police sources said. It appeared that he was killed by a sting-ray barb that went through his chest, Queensland Police Inspector Russell Rhodes said.

Reflect on this....

Driving by St.George Maronite Catholic Church, thier church kiosk that you can see from the road read:

" Do the math, count your blessings"

Scrapbook Convention

Well Saturday Sara and I jetted downtown to the Great American Scrapbook Convention at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. There was booth after booth of merchandise and yes Sara and I brought home stuff. To get on the show floor was $7. The workshops you paid for individually. They went into depth about various techniques. You could also go to crops in the evening until midnight. Sara and I just walked around the show room floor. Just for going to the convention we got a free scrapbook magazine subscription. We also discovered a new scrapbook place in San Antonio we had not gone to by the airport. I got a supply tote and Sara bought a wheel tote like the one I got for Christmas. It was actually a folded cart, so it can be used for more than just scrapbook. I found two vendors I really liked Rusy Pickle
and My Mind's Eye. Rusty pickle was run by all guys so I don't what the means but it was refreshing. That right guys you can scrap, too. I also got a pink shirt that says "Live. Love.Scrap" on the front. I think that pretty much sums it up. I got this awesome circus paper from Rustry Pickle. (Steve all I am saying is buttons!) Overall, the day rocked.

Interesting note: There were two other conventions going on in the generally vicinity of the scrapping area. They were the Towing Convention, as in tow trucks and then the Entreprenial Bootcamp for Christian Families. Yea the people watching alone for those two groups was priceless. The fact that they had to mix and mingle to get to thier rooms was classic. You couldn't have two more different groups.

www.greatamericanscrapbook.com
www.homepage.mac.com/rustypickle/
www.mymindseye.com/

more oaxaca

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Oaxaca

So the family just got back from Oaxaca, Mexico. It was awesome! The whole family went: Mom, Dad, Steve, Von, Neal, Aunt Neat, Grandma, Uncle Robert, Aunt Debbie, Sam and I.
Oaxaca was beautiful the climate was temperate, so not too hot or cold. It rained some, but it was more like showers.
We saw ruins and we got to go to different villages. Each village had its own craft that the whole done more or less was skilled in. The techniques have been handed down through generations. Each place was new and intersting and beautiful. It just made me think what am I creating in my life? How can I see my world more creatively?
The place we stayed was Villa Maria. Maria was awesome and helpful and everyone there was so nice. In fact, everyone in Oaxaca is nice and happy it just gave me a good vibe.
Oaxaca is made up of different indigenous groups each with there own cultures and ways of living. I loved learning about Mitla and Monte Alban and the socities that once lived there.
I pretty much immediately fell in love with Oaxaca City and I know I will be back.
More picture at lifewiththeslocums.shutterfly.com

small world

So a while back my Dad told me this story about how he was walking in the neighborhood and ran into a guy who had moved back to Tnaglewood. Evidently he grew up in Tanglewood as a kid and then moved back as an adult. He moved in across the street from Natalie Lund's house. Anyway, the other day I went to the alumni association to pledge my money for lifetime membership and Jeanne at the front was the one that sold the house to the guy that grew up in Tanglewood. It turns out her family lived there for 27 years so I grew up just down the street from thier house. Crazy we were on the same street most of our lives.

Kinetic Sculptrue

My brother sent me this. Another cool link:

http://www.vectorpark.com/levers.html

birthdays and anniversaries

Well this weekend we all went to Olive Garden to eat dinner. We were celebrating that grandma is 80 years old and that mom and dad have been married for 39 years.

website

Well this is cool:

http://interact10ways.com/usa/information_interactive.htm

Adoption

So Sam and I have been thinking about adoption, specifically from China. It seems like recently I have been running into folks that have Chinese adoption connections. Evidently there are several families in San Antonio considering it. Well we found this place Great Wall and their International headquarters is in Austin. It seems like things are falling into place. I ordered a info. Guide and video and I cried through most of it. In Fact I began crying at the forward.

http://www.gwcadopt.org/

Nametags

This guy made a whole career out of wearing Nametags!

http://hellomynameisscott.com/default.aspx

We found our rings!

I found our wedding rings! They were in an old Nike shoebox.
Jeff, our roomate, is moving out so he began to move boxes from my office/the storage room and I am came into the room to see if I could move some stuff into the closet (we have a whole lot of random stuff sitting around our townhouse with no place to go)In the closet was the Nike shoe box.I decided to open it and there inside, in a tiny white box, were our wedding rings.

For those that don't know, the night before the wedding Sam and I were desperately looking for our wedding rings and never found them, so we had to get on th plane to Sctoalnd with fake wedding rings. We just now found them. In August, we will have been married a year.

new curtains

Sam and I used our wedding certificates to get new curtains. When people would come over we would sit at the dining/ kitchen table and play games. Sam's dog, Jack, would see us inside and bark and bark, so we would cover the windows with throws. We bought curtains once, but then Jack came in and promptly tore them down by getting tangled in them. So this time we bought side hooks that we could hook the curtains in when he comes inside. This why he will not get tangled in them. Anyway, I am just excited that now have pretty curtains.

We also ordered dining chairs over the internet. They will be delivered to our door. Yea! Our old dining chairs are from a previous dining table and are pretty much falling apart.

Housing woes

Well folks, Sam and I found a house after looking at just three and put an offer on it. As things progressed, we realized quotes that were given to us were not correct or crucial points were left out and not told to us until the last moment. For example, things like variable vs. fixed rate mortgages. Our glorious deal with Centex did not turn out to be all that glorious. So Sam and I pulled away from the negotiating table. What we found was that in reality we did not really have enough money to live where we want to live and be in the kind of house that we want to be in. So for the next two years, we are going to try and save half my salary and pay off those stubborn credit cards.

VIVA FIESTA!

It's Fiesta time in San Antonio! Let's get crazy!

http://www.fiesta-sa.org/

ASB

I work at UTSA. My students went on an Alternative Spring Break trip to New Oreans to help with hurricane relief projects. The trip changed lives. This is the gear they had to wear when "gutting" houses. More pictures on flikr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/airbs/

LOST

A good television show to watch is LOST. I went shopping for jeans Saturday, so while in Target I went toward the jeans and Sam went toward electronics and decided to get the first seson of LOST. ROCKS! Love it. Sibs...I know you have been watching it. I also got my parents sucked into it, too. MUHAAA!

Funky Fun!

Well here is a cool store:

http://www.gypsyville.com/

Peace Corps rules!

I got a Peace Corps brochure today. Evidently, there are tons of coupled retirees living it up in other countries. This one couple in their 80s had done 6 Peace Corps tours. Just thought that was cool.

Hilarity

This little gem is from my freind Kat:

http://www.theworld.org/latesteditions/02/20060217.shtml

It's the Ricky Gervais Show (the guy from the British versio of The Office)

heart day

Happy Valentine's Day!

Longest weeks.... Ever

Well, last week was an exhausting week. I interviewed 30 students that wanted to go on the Alternative Spring Break trip to help New Orleans. Students are going to work with Emergency Communities.
http://www.emergencycommunities.org/

They will be working in the communities and helping repiar lives after the hurricane aftermath.

It was a hard decision to pick a 10 out of the 30 interviewed students. In the end, I think I picked a good group to go. I just hate rejecting students. It was interesteing interviewing them all and learning about what they are doing as far as service goes.

This week is Homecoming and although all the evening events are fun I will be pretty tired by this weeks end, too. Highlights are a jazz concert and face painting!

WTF

Today I went to the rhumetologist and approached the subject of me having babies. In a nutshell he told me I should not have them. Evidently, I am on all the "messing up growing babies drugs" and I would be off too much medicine while trying to get pregnant and my body would flare up bad. He wondered if I could handle the pain. My JAR has mostly just got worst over the past two years and the drugs I am on are not really working like Dr. Rutstein wanted. He seemed to be worried about the stress on my body and all the unknowns that go with JAR and pregnancy Even if the pregnancy was good after the baby was born I would flare up and not be able to take care of the baby. For him it seemed like too many risks. At different times in my life I asked this questions of him and it was a lot of wait and see; some hopeful answers but nothing definitive. When I asked him today and he realized I was serious the answer was no. So essentially I was falsely hoping all along. I guess there are always second opinions, but I think I know in my heart they will say the same thing.

On the upside there is adoption and that is probably what I will do, but still a little part of my soul died today.

Good News and Bad News

Well, yesterday I went to the orthopedic doctor and he said that I am continuing to heal and that I can keep doing physical therapy and I will not have to do the surgery. That is the good news.

The bad news....I just found out today that they are going to eliminate the service learning position at UTSA and give all the job duties over to me. So, basically I do two jobs and don't get any extra pay. What is more disturbing is that UTSA would kill a program that was originally started by a student. Obviously, service is not one of UTSA's main priorities and I guess that just makes me sad.

Major Updates

Ok folks major updates ahead:

UTSA: Well, last week was the first week of school and it was super busy. I worked last Saturday doing this conference for students and the Sunday before MLK I did a workday with my VOICES students. So by the end of the week I was tired, but then it is kinda always like that the first week of school. It turns out that we are going to send students to New Orleans over spring break to help with hurricane relief efforts. I am excited about this trip and think it will be a humbling experience for the students that are going.

Nevil: The big news around here currently is Nevil Shed. He was one of the players on The Texas Western basketball team in 1966. They started black players which had never been done before and they won the championship title. The movie Glory Road is literally his life. Nevil even had some plot lines in the movie. Anyway, it was a good movie that the whole family could enjoy. Nevil is even on a Wheaties box and he is practically excited about that.

Physical Therapy: So the physical therapy continues. I actually look forward to the sessions which is weird. The folks there are nice and it seems to be helping a lot. I can drive now and bend my leg when I sit at my desk and have it not hurt. I can walk without crutches, but I have to remember to bend my leg when I walk. I also still wear the brace during the day. Tomorrow I go see the orthopedist, so we will see what he has to say on the progress. Dirk, the PT guy said he is a conservative doctor and does not usually do surgery unless he has to. So I might just have to do PT and never need the surgery. I am getting better but I also realize it is a slow constant process that will take some time.

Nephews: Sam and I went over to his brother's house to play the Dungeon and Dragons game they got for Christmas. We arrived about 6:00pm and stayed until 11:00pm! The next day we all went to Dave & Busters because Jonah got the highest score in his whole school on his TAKS test (the new TEAMS for those of my generation) Anyway, the nephews are cute and super excited about everything. Being a kid was cool.

Jeff: Jeff's dad sold the house in TN so now he can begin to look for a house here. Also, Jeff presented his work he has been doing for his Masters Saturday in CA to a committee and they seem to like it. Also, he presented some ideas to the paten board on Friday. Jeff and his professor are making a teaching model for surgeon students that simulates real skin, so the students can practice cutting in real skin vs. cadaver skin. Evidently the give, texture, etc. is all very different. Anyway, the model, method and idea can all be patented so Jeff and this professor get to publish the paper and might get dollars from the patent. Cool!

My first Christmas tree as a Slocum

My internet at home works so I am just now blogging Christmas. It was a wonderful Christmas both at the Slocums and at the Smith & relatives. At the Slocums we opened gifts, ate and played D&D with the nephews. So cute! At the Smith's we opened, gifts, ate and then went over to grandma's to open more gifts and eat more. It completely rocked! Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. Mostly I just love spending time with family. Above is Sam and me with our first Christmas tree.

Kittens!

This site RULES!

www.kittenwar.com

You are powerless against its cuteness!

Cats are smarter than people think

Today on NPR I heard this story. 911 got a call, but there was no response on the other line. When they arrived a guy had fallen out of his wheelchair and the cat was by the phone. The guy said he tried to teach the cat to dial 911 in an emergency, but was never sure if it had stuck. Well evidently it did. Cats save lives!