Elastic Basket for my Peaches

I also have a website: www.lizhightower.com

Friday, June 27, 2008

Friday fun

I am trying to prepare everything for my upcoming trip. Today I went shopping hoping to find a nice raincoat and a good sleeping bag. My family has a few sleeping bags that are very large. They are really glorified comforters with zippers. I didn't care about anything but compressability. REI was having a sale. Unfortunately the sale sucked. I was hoping for high quality merchandise at low prices. There was nice stuff but it was all over $100. I was feeling far too cheap for that.

While I was shopping at another store, my friend, Jane called and offered to let me use her very compressable sleeping bag. Hooray! I don't have to spend money on one!
And then my friend, Bethany called and invited me to an Astros game tonight. I had been wanting to go to one but feared they would be sold out. Now I get to go for free! Hooray! Good day!

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Lazy days of summer... I mean really lazy!

So, I am pretty much the epitome of lazy today. Maybe that's a bit of an overexaggeration but I am pretty sloth-like these days. I am technically not allowed to work out until next week on the account of my surgery. But I had hoped to work on my writing- I still want to write books someday, though wanting doesn't make it happen. Also I want to start studying for the GRE, in case I decide to go to Grad school. I need some sort of motivation. I figure since I leave Houston in a week, this motivation will come a few days before. Too little, too late.

Other than running random errands, my usual day consists of a lot of reading- (I have read about 6 400+ page John Grisham books since Summer began.) I also spend time cruising the internet for random youtube videos and the like. I have also been watching a lot of TV. Most of it is fairly mindless. There is an exception, though. The other day I watched an amazing new show- "I Survived a Japanese Game Show" It's just so funny! For those of you who missed its premiere this week, here is the gist of it:

Ten random Americans signed up to be on an unknown reality show. They all arrive at the L.A. airport and get into a van. The van drives from arrivals to departures and the contestants are told they are now getting on a plane to Japan. They still don't know what's going to happen. When they get to Japan, they are introduced to the place where they will stay. It's a pretty sweet Japanese style house complete with an older, overweight Japanese woman called Mama San. I am not quite sure what her role is other than to scream at the contestants as she enforces bedtimes and wake-up calls.

In the morning the contestants are told they are going on a tour of Tokyo. They drive them to some famous Tokyo TV studio. Then, the contestants are herded into a dark room, still not knowing what's going on. All of a sudden, the lights go on and they are smack dab in the middle of a Japanese gameshow. There is a wacky host and about a hundred Japanese spectators screaming, cheering, and playing a variety of instruments. The surprised looks on the Americans' faces were absolutely priceless.

Now they finally know what they are going to be doing. They will be competing on a Japanese gameshow to win $250,000. They are broken into teams- The Yellow Penguins v. The Blue Monkeys. They have to compete as a team in a wacky event. The winning team gets a prize. The losing team has to be punished and then pick two players to play an elimination game. The first challenge was where one person had to eat moshi balls off of a tray attached to the head of a team member who was running on a treadmill. When they fell on the treadmill, they ended up in a vat of flour. The whole time they are competing, the zany announcer is saying stuff in Japanese that the Americans can't understand. The audience laughs hysterically. Subtitles let the viewers know that the host is saying things like, "That man with chubby cheeks sure can eat."

The winning team won a helicopter tour of Tokyo while the losing team had to play rickshaw drivers for a few hours. For the elimination challenge, two players are dressed as bugs and must jump on a trampoline to place some sort of marker on a giant pretend windshield. Pretty weird! From my meticulous rehashing of this show, it should be clear that it is my new favorite. It's just so funny. It makes Americans look selfish and dumb at times but that can be true. I highly recommend this show!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Support Musings

It's been a bit weird to raise support for my Asian mission trip this summer. I've raised money for many mission trips before and have been super blessed by my loved ones' generosity. The money always comes in just in time. This time is different because I am no longer a full-time missionary. I have another job, a real job. I probably could have figured out a way to scrimp and save my teacher salary in order to go. But, when I think about what that would be like, I realize it is not the way God intended missions to be.

Missions is best when it includes interdependence. I am depending on supporters for the funds to go and they are depending on me to spread God's love in Asia. Not everyone can go overseas and it is a real honor for me to have so many supporters behind me. I feel a real sense of responsibility and accountablity to the people who have donated money for me to go. If I had funded this trip myself, I wouldn't have that feeling of support and responsibility. It can be humbling to ask for money but I wouldn't have it any other way. I plan on doing my best to represent those who have donated to me. I want to make them and the Lord proud.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

The day before the complete inner nose overhaul

Tomorrow I am having sinus surgery. I like to say that I am having nose renovations. In reality, I am getting a bone spur removed, a cyst removed, and some sort of nose membranes trimmed. They are also going to correct my deviated septum. Sounds like fun, huh?

I am not too nervous. I have grown up with a mom who's a nurse. I have always found value in medicine and surgical procedures. This is my second time to go under the knife. I had an ear surgery in high school.

I have heard several different reports of recovery time. My doctor says that about half his patients go to work on Monday after having surgery on Thursday. He told me that I need to roll gauze and tape it to my upper lip because stuff may drain out. Basically I will be making a gauze mustache. Needless to say, I will be looking really hot. Anyone is still welcome to come keep me cxompany during my recovery but you can't laugh at my gauze mustache. What I am I saying? I certainly would laugh at my gauze mustache so I can't really hold that against you. Luckily both my mom and my roommate are nurses so I should be fine.

Monday, June 09, 2008

Young Life camp

I just got back from Young Life camp. Well, technically I just got back from visiting friends in Georgia for a couple days after Young Life camp. The camp I went to was near where my YWAM friends, Matt and Bethany Laskey for a while. They surprised me by stopping to pick up another one of our YWAM friends, Stephanie Rolon, who happens to be spending her summer working at a summer camp less than an hour from Matt and Bethany's house. Like all YWAM reunions, it was weird and yet not weird at all. It felt like no time had passed. I love these kinds of reunions!!!

As for camp, it was great! Young Life camps are like little Club Meds. The camp I worked at in college was nothing compared to a Young Life camp. They provide sheets and towels in their posh air-conditioned cabins. They have a blob, ropes course, water zip line, basketball, sand volleyball, disc golf, climbing wall, mountain bikes, and more.

It's hard to detail what happened at camp because there was simply so much. I got to know a lot of the girls in my cabin better. In the last few months of school, I wasn't able to hang out with my Young Life kids as much so it was great to get to know them better.

There was another group of urban kids there and I enjoyed watching the white kids from other schools try to dance ghetto style.

I am too tired to right more. Tomorrow I have a pre-op doctor's appt, a picture party and then I am spending the night at my parents' so we can leave early in the morning for South Padre. In the words of the illustrious Ricky Martin, "Livin' La Vida Loca."
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