Johnny Cash just came on the radio with his song, "Daddy Sang Bass." In youth group one year some people were going to sing this for a youth competition. It's so funny to listen to now.

Someone brought up wood roaches at work today (they're the big ones that get in when it's hot because they're looking for water; they also fly). Most of the women had also lived in one house with German roaches (the little ones that you can't get rid of easily). I learned more about roaches today. I love the stories that the staff members share amongst themselves.

I felt bad today, as my boss's wife told me that her recent health problems are discovered to be due to three mini-strokes and cancer of the eye. Although wealthy people can get the fanciest health insurance and the best of everything, they will still die--sometimes painfully. Cancer is still scary. I don't feel as bitter toward her anymore. Can you imagine getting cancer in your eye and knowing that you'll probably lose it?

The guy who tells us the whoppers is out for the rest of the week. I have to admit, I miss his visits twice a day.

*KatieW*

I wore brown and green yesterday and watched David play "Rome: Total War." We scoffed at the rampant playing of Sousa marches and emotional patriotic speeches on the radio and ate homemade pizza. Then we spent the rest of our evening with friends at a coffee shop. We don't like large crowds or fireworks or demonstrations of national pride, so we steered clear of the Texans and their celebrations.

On a different (and much less dangerous) note, I love being able to watch episodes of my favorite cooking shows on the Food Network's website--without commercials. Unfortunately, though, we've nearly worked our way through all of the Iron Chef America shows, minus the ones with Japanese guy (his food is not as appetizing to us). Yay for the Food Network!

On a family vacation to Florida one year (I think I was still in high school), I first watched the Food Network at my great aunt's house. It was just taking off then. I remember thinking, "Who would really want to watch this many cooking shows?" And here I am.

That's the same vacation that a flying cockroach disturbed our usually immobile relatives by making dives at their heads. It was a beautiful night.

*KatieW*

Robin's dog got sick last week. (Robin is my office mate). One thing I've learned about Texans is that they are very serious about their dogs. For example, Robin told me that she would do anything for her dog, and she was completely serious about it. If her husband told her that either Cocoa left or he left, she would choose Cocoa. Thus, Cocoa being sick is a huge deal.

To make it even worse, the vet thinks that Cocoa might have cancer. Imagine her devastation. I was definitely more sad for Robin than I was when I heard that my boss (the one I don't like) got some serious kidney stones in Hawaii and had surgery for them yesterday. He's a rich man with top-tier health insurance; he'll be fine.

That is the bog news in Texas. Also, it has been in the hundreds for three weeks. We're adjusting better to the heat. I'm still trying to convince David that he would be cooler if he wore sandals, but he is very anti-sandals.

I forgot how green it is in the north until I saw pictures on someone's facebook. The grass is dry and dead here.

The head office worker in the philosophy department volunteered to show me how to make salsa. She's a thorough Texan, so this should be fun. I miss doing summer freezing/canning/blanching with my family.

*KatieW*

We visited an Episcopal church yesterday, as we decided to commence with church shopping again. It was a beautiful service--very holy and meaningful--and we are certain that we will return. The pastor was a woman, which was pretty sweet. We've both been leaning toward something more traditional and high-church for a while.

David and I went to a local coffee shop called Sweet Eugene's on Saturday and played a game of chess while we waited for his friend Jake to come. David broke my three-game winning streak with a killer game, where he cornered by queen and destroyed my defense (I was lured out).

It was beautiful to watch, though I did not enjoy being defeated. I used to play a lot of chess with my brother when I was younger, but David rarely played before playing me. It's really neat to see him gain confidence as he learns how to fully exploit every piece. He is also beginning to see that I am really not than much better than him, even though I've played a lot more. I have no natural gift for playing chess.

It is very hot now (in the high 90s all the time, coupled with enough humidity to suck all of your energy), but we are still biking or walking nearly every day (David is much better at it than I). We sweat all the time, though. It's become the norm. I told David that I've never sweated this much since marching band. He was in high school sports, though, so he's a sweating pro. now we sweat just by walking down the street to the bus. We sweat while we stand and wait for the bus. Texas is yucky.

This morning a bug flew in when David opened the door and went straight for my face. He ended up on my back and then was squashed by David and fell to the floor. Texas is trying to kill me.

*KatieW*

Our weekend was marvelous. The drive to Panera was easy and sweet in our little Sonia (newly waxed). We enjoyed hanging out there for a few hours, reading and chatting and watching people. Conroe is definitely even more Texan than College Station, so there were more mean looks at David and more nice looks at me, but we're used to it by now.

On Sunday, we went to church (late, of course, as we can't seem to ever get it together on Sunday mornings), and the message was given by the youth pastor. This depreciation in quality of sermon was depreciated further by the fact that this church is trying to cut down the time on sermons to fit them in a TV time slot. David and I have become disillusioned with this church (as the focus has turned more from challenging people to trying to make them feel good, which is at least partly due to trying to "clean things up" for a TV audience). We are considering an Episcopal church next week.

Sunday was also our one-year anniversary, which we celebrated by watching movies and eating red velvet cake (which was our wedding cake, too). It was a lovely day.

The only sad part was that I found out a kid I went to elementary school and college with died. He had also only been married a year. That was unsettling. It made our time sweeter, though, as thinking of death together often does.

How little time we all have.

*KatieW*