Correction

My new Blog is

bcalhoun.wordpress.com

A New Blog

I wanted to let all of you know here at "Secrets of Cheese and Rice" that as of today I started a new blog.

In about a month this particular blog will be shut down and I will be using the one. If you go to it, then read and find out why.

http://bcalhoun@wordpress.com

Hello my faithful readers. Although the last couple of weeks, I'm sure you have disappeared seeing how I never write anymore. Sorry about that. So here is an update on my life. :)

First of all I was in Lawton for two weeks. Lawton will be my home in about 4 weeks. I went there thinking I would only be there for a week to put in some applications and look around for apartments. Near the end of the first week I finally ended up at the board of education looking for a job and found one that I was interested in. In Rockford it would be known as a paraprofessional but in Lawton I think its just a teacher's assistant. Anyhoo... its working with kids with disabilities which is what I was aiming for. The person that I had a short interview with asked me to come in the following Monday to bring in more information. So I stayed over the weekend but because of Paul's schedule I ended up staying the rest of the week. I stayed with some of Paul's friends. We were suppose to leave Friday afternoon but because of the rain and flooding, we had to stay put. Saturday, I finally arrived home.

Strange... I just called Oklahoma... home.

I have heard from the job and they are looking forward to interviewing and are excited about my background and what I have experience in. So please pray along as I pray for this job. : )

Paul came this weekend and we all went to Oklahoma City which was a lot of fun. Today was a great day spiritually. I was so convicted during the sermon and was so moved by Christ. After lunch Paul and I had went out to talk about the sermon and some other things as we get closer to a marriage. Then we went to church and talked with Dad for a while. Sunday evening church was just as moving. Although it was so hot in church, I had to move away from Paul because we were both sweating. Ha.

This week Paul hopes to call and get the apartment that we want. : ) I'm very excited about this. Please pray that one of these two apartments are still open. Its also near the couple that I was staying with for two weeks. That is a nice plus, near some people I know.

So that is a short version of what is going on in my life. Please pray for me as I plan my wedding and that all of the details will get done and smoothly.

Things have been moving right along here in Enid. Lots of things going on and at the same time..... not enough to keep my busy.

I love being involved in my dad's church, let alone being with my family at church. I have enjoyed getting to know the members there at Westside and as far as I can tell, they like me! : )

I have applied to several places hoping to get a job for the summer but no one has called yet. I'm thinking tomorrow I'm going to make a run to some of these places and just talk to someone in person. I really need a job. I was hoping to save up money so that Paul and I can have money to put a down payment on our apartment in Lawton. He is hoping to get something in July so that its all ready to go by the time I move there. Something you guys can pray for. :)

I'm actually expecting to go to Lawton in a couple of weeks. I need to take my resume to Human Resources and do some other things while in town. I've met a few people there on post already. There was a particular couple that I enjoyed meeting. Lawton is an interesting place. I wouldn't say its the most beautiful city in America but its where God has led Paul so for that I'll be thankful.

Grace and I have been going to Monday night bible study with some of the local girls in Enid and one girl (Kendi) from our church. Grace has been leading it. Last week we got a list of the attributes of God and we had to look up verses that described these things. This week we got names of God. We looked up a few during bible study and talked about them and then closed with a prayer. For the next week we have to look up the other verses and find verses on our own and bring them to bible study next week. I've been really enjoying this bible study. I especially have been enjoying meeting different people. Most of these girls are in high school. There is also another leader from another baptist church in town who has been helping, Wendy. Her and Grace are about the same age and have become friends.

I do ask that you'll keep some of these things in your prayers. Thank you my friends for emailing me and staying in contact with me (Rockfordians). I feel loved and missed.

Cookies to Feel Better

My mom, Grace and I went out to dinner to Applebees with some ladies from the church. We enjoyed our time very much. A time filled with laughter, prayer, and lots of food. We came home only to find dad pitifully sitting on a chair who had a bad day. It went something like this.

Dad couldn't get his socks off because the previous day he had stepped on class and it cut the top of his foot. Well it was more like a sliced of skin. Gross. Blood was everywhere. So today his socks were dried to the blood on his foot, he hesitated to take his socks off. I was sitting near by where inch by inch he was slowly taking his sock off. After getting it all the way off and only had one part stuck to the wound he decided he needed to just rip it off. He counted. 1, 2, 3!!!! As he ripped it off and screamed from the pain he smacked his knuckles really hard on the coffee table on the way up. Then he started screaming from a different kind of pain and rocked back and forth. Now there was blood from the foot and swollen knuckles from the hand. Mom came over and tended to his "wound" and he screamed once more because she had touched it too hard and he declared she didn't know because it wasn't her wound.

After this drama he then told us about his sad dinner. He had grilled cheese and tomato soup. During the dinner he dropped his soup and broke glass everywhere so he had to clean it all up and went back to a cold grilled cheese sandwich. Then he looked at me really sad like and said,

"So... I ate some cookies to feel better."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOklahoma

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOklahoma where the winds go... da da da da... nana nana nana na daada daaaa!!!"

I never know the words of that song but that one part and I alway just mumble or hum the rest. Ha.

Anyways, I made it in Enid, Oklahoma and so far, I'm liking it. I have lots to do today and this week. Finding a full time job is one of them. I have a few places in mind but please pray that the Lord will provide a job and that I will take whatever he provides me with without complaining.

I had a nice visit with my fiance, Paul, this weekend. It was so nice to see him and its nice that I'll see him again this weekend. Saying "goodbye" is no longer an issue... I just say, "See you later!"

Everyone at Dad's church were so nice and welcoming. I even had a welcome to Enid spagetti dinner which was delish by the way. Its so nice to be in dad's church and with my family again... even if we are all under one roof. Scary.

Anyways.. Thank you for your prayers as I traveled.. now lets pray until the wedding.

Bridal Shower

I wanted to say thank you to Mrs. Aschers, Mrs. Jane Cook, and Melody for putting together a wonderful bridal shower for me. I had a wonderful time and I really enjoyed seeing all of my friends from the past and present. Also a big thanks for those of you who could make it, I loved having a chance to talk to you. I felt very special that all of you showed up, not to mention loved. Thank you for all of the wonderful gifts. I can't wait to put them into my future home.

The Rock River Adventure

There has been a list of things for me to do before I move to Oklahoma from my home of 21 years, Rockford, Illnois. One thing I've been wanting to do (because my roommate has connections) is to go water sking. I have gone before but all were "sorry" situations and I never had a chance to really prove myself. The family Melody (the roommate) works for owns a boat have a pair of double water skis and offered to take me out on the river. I've posted several photos of this event. I mangaged to get up twice but only to fall quickly there after but both standing up adventures were triumphs in my book!! Mel only managed to get a picture of me falling from one of those times.

Even though I had a great time, I have to say that I'm sore from head to toe... But I'm glad I went. Also to end a great day on the river, I went tubing with one of the family's kid. Which was relaxing and fun.

**Of course MANY funny things happened from this glorious day, if you are interested go to my roommates blog and check it out.

The Squirrel, The Mop, and The Broom

I was sitting in my room talking to Paul on the phone. As we were in deep discussion I heard a knock on my door. I looked and Mel with quite an expression on her face said, "There is a squirrel on the basement stairs!"

At first I had to repeat what she said a couple of times, just to make sure. I hung up with Paul and ran down the stairs. As I arrived downstairs Mel was putting garden gloves on and was going to lure it into a bag. I looked down the stairs and saw a bushy tail and then a head. Two eyes looking at me. I decided to call dad. The advice he offered was not to do what Mel had in mind. After hanging up with dad, Mel and I created a plan. A plan that had to work.

We have a white dresser that sits in the dining room. We moved it in front of the kitchen door so it couldn't go into the dining room. I got a chair from the dining room so I could stand on it. The fear of the squirrel eating my ankles overwhelmed me. Mel sat on the counter with the broom. I had the mop. I opened the basement door and the squirrel wasn't moving. So we stood outside on the back porch... waiting... nothing. I decided to wait in the recycle bin.. overwhelmed once again of the thought of having my ankles nawed on. After some time went by of waiting, I went back inside and stared at him on the stairs.

Finally it came into the kitchen. I quickly shut the basement door and it crawled under a small bookshelf. I moved outside again while Mel with the broom (while standing on the chair) trying to push it out. Eventually it came out and didn't really know what to do with itself. He ran under the oven which was set at 400 degrees. ROASTED SQUIRREL!! Mel came up with the brilliant plan of feeding it dog treats. The squirrel was really into Buddy's pink ball and followed it around. Mel stuck the treats on the floor and it chomped away. During all of this the squirrel kind of squandered and Mel screamed and scurried to the left and right.

My final move was to the backstairs (by the back door) and the squirrel went out the door. People the squirrel has left the building!

God is so Good

As of right now the wedding plans are going great. God has been gracious in many ways, providing a lot of things. More recently God provided in a way that was unsuspected. There was something that I wanted to do (special) for someone at the wedding but certain things prevented me from doing this. Although this person was so kind and so good (not to mention patient) about the situation, I still felt like it wasn't enough. I wanted to do something in return. After complaining inwardly about it and not being satisfied, I started asking God to help me accept the things I couldn't change. Even though I was still feeling disappointed and not fully gracious towards God for the things he has been providing (basically drowning in my sin), God gave me the resources to be able to do this thing. Last night I was with a family friend (Boekes) that made it possible. Simply as a gift. Tears came down our faces. Especially when I realized that God was giving something that I did not deserve considering my behavior. God was gracious to me. Isn't our God so kind?

Thank you Jenna and Jeremy : )

A Karyn Moment

I have a brief story about Karyn that I would like to share with my readers. Karyn was busy making cookies this late afternoon in the kitchen when I heard her kind of grunt and sigh and talking to herself. I looked over and after she had used the mixer, she took off the beaters to wash them but for some reason, threw them in the garbage instead. Huh. Well.. then.. she had to reach in the garbage and take them out.

I'm sure we all have had moments like these, where we stuck something in the fridge or threw a shoe when we meant to through a ball...... hmm

A Car Ride

This past Saturday on the 28th, Annie (roomate) and I had to drive to Dixon to pick up a friend to come and stay with us for the night. I got to drive on the way there when all of the sudden a horrible sound came from the car. I turned off the music and told Annie that the car was making an awful sound like something had dropped and was being dragged along the pavement. Annie instructed to pull over and she would jump out and inspect the car. As I sat in the car waiting for answers, I could see Annie laughing and shaking her hands and head in the rearview mirror. I knew something was up. I jumped out of the car and looked down... yes... we had a flat. I got to change a tire for the first time in my life! It was so exciting. As Annie jacked the car up and switched tires I got to put the bolts on and tighten them. Once the tire had been changed we got back in the car and I noticed a drop a blood on my knee and grease on my leg. I thought it was the coolest thing ever! At the same time I noticed a kid (mid 20s) in a van who had turned around and told us to roll down our windows. Annie rolled it down and the next few words that came out of the kid's mouth was not expected.

"Do you girls know you put that tire on backwards!?"

We both got out of the car and again and stared at the tire. I didn't notice anything wrong but Annie did. I even asked the guy, "How do you know?" He looked at me like I was questioning him and said, "I've done this many times."

Annie was increasingly irritated with this guy and instructed him to make himself useful by loosening the bolts. Which he did and then we told him to go and we had it under control. Alas the tire was changed and on correctly. I know how to change a tire and our mistake of putting it on backwards will only teach me the next time.

One Time Isn't Enough

Ok.. I'm sure a while back some of you can remember when I posted something about getting into a car accident (s). Of course one accident wasn't enough and 30 minutes later I was in another one.

Well...

Today was the third time of locking my keys in the car. The first time I was in a hurry and didn't think much of it and left them sitting on the floor of the car. I'm not sure why I threw them on the floor, locked the door, and shut it. Doesn't make sense but I honestly don't remember doing any of that. So.. Joab the officer came (from public safety) and unlocked my car and jokingly told me to never do that again.

The second time I remember thinking to myself... put your keys in the purse, Barbara. I did. But I guess I didn't tell myself... pick up your purse, Barbara. I left my purse sitting on the floor. Sighs... so Jeff the officer came. Actually I flagged him down while he was driving around on campus and told him to follow me to my van.

The third time was today. I had several bags to take to class today and I thought I grabbed them all. No. I left my purse sitting on the floor again. I went to class and decided to worry about it later. I called public safety after class and Jeff (again) the officer came and helped. He chuckled and said, "I remember this van with the stickers!".

So... when you see me do or say something once that was a mistake.. just wait.. it'll happen again because for Barb Garard.. one time isn't enough.

*Did I mention that all three times happened in one month??

A Few of My Non-favorite Things

Lots to do this week and lots to do next week. But according to my roomates, everyone has to do it. School. I have 2 papers to work on this weekend that are due next week. I have an extra credit paper due today and an appointment at 9 am. I have a Dr. appt. on Friday which is causing me to miss my Geology class (no complaints). I have two exams next week. I have a quiz (which is really a test) this Friday. I have lots of reading and research to do. People want answers, I don't have them. Just yesterday my throat started to hurt and nose started to run. I wake up this morning and its worse. I need to do laundry. I need to clean my room. I'm leaving in a couple of weeks. My breath stinks. I need to love God and stop complaining. These days are God given days. Just pray for me as I make it through my last couple of weeks of school. Then mom, Grace, and I start the wedding planning which is what I'm really looking forward to.

Talkin Deaf

Tonight I enjoyed a brief visit with my lovable Deb Myers. We were laughin and kickin and just having a grand ole time. Amanda, Deb, and I had much to talk about. We ended up talking about sign language and how I learned it. Deb asked a wonderful question and seriously wanted an answer.

"So... when you were learnin sign language and all... did your mom talk deaf to you??"

Happiness... with a side of change

Change. Change is hard but good. But us believers have to be careful. Although change can be good or is happening for good, it can cause our sins to rise to the surface. Pastor Bob spoke about change on Sunday night. Although I was in the nursery that night, I heard about it from several people after church.

I'm going to be going through a lot of change in the next month and in the next few months. I'm leaving my home. But I'm leaving my home for a new home. This house I'm in now has been my home since I was a weeee little baby. Seems like it was just yesterday when I was running around the table and dad was chasing me. I get a good laugh when I think about all the memories this house holds. Its sad to leave this home but my home isn't here... nor will it be in Enid, or Lawton. My home is with my Father in heaven. Home is such a comforting word in many ways.

I'm also going through the change of churches. Even though I've only been a member at Morning Star Baptist for 4 years.... Those 4 years seem like 10 years. I've grown so close to everyone in that church. I've had a wonderful pastor who wasn't afraid to not only step on my toes (through his preaching) but stomp. I look up to the ladies at MorningStar on so many levels. As wives, mothers, sisters, and friends. I have developed many friendships at this church that I know will be here waiting when I come and visit. 4 years ago when ouor church started I was hurting with the rest of the church, but now I'm rejoicing and would through it again and again. Because of Pastor Bob's preaching I have been convicted time and time again and not to mention that I look at my sin and my life on earth completely different than I have ever had before. Thank you MorningStar. Thank you Pastor Bob.

* But watch out Dad (Pasta Mark) I'm coming to be apart of your church.

Finally I'm going through the change of families. Of course I will always have my family but I'm starting my own. Its exciting but its change. I want this change but more than anything I've been praying that I take Christ with me in this change. I hope you will pray as well. At the same time, I hope you can rejoice with Paul and I. Hope??? Some of you might be glad I'm off of your hands.. Ha.

All in all change is good but pray that I react to the change in a holy manner and not to let my sin rise to the surface. Which I'm sure it will so just pray for God's Grace.

All "Tangled" Up

Ok.. so this morning something happened that was painful but (slightly) funny. But for my readers I know you will get either a good laugh or smile. I had gotten up at 5:30am to start my homework for the day. After doing some notes I ran and jumped in the shower. While I was blow drying my hair (while using a round brush) my brush got stuck in my hair. At first, I wasn't alarmed. Until I started tugging at it. "OUCH! Its actually stuck!" After a few minutes of sheer panic, I got myself to settle down. I pulled and yanked and tried everything. I was becoming very frustrated. I stood and looked in my mirror, I looked pathetic. My brush was stuck in my hair!! My eyes started to tear up and I decided I needed help. I made my way down to mother Karyn's room. I had to wake her up and I'm sure being woke up by your roomate claiming that their brush is stuck in their hair was almost unrealistic for a moment. After ten minutes, Karyn finally went and got a bobby pin and had to weave my hair out of the brush. Too much drama at 6 am in the morning. Now its about 5:00 pm and my head is actually sore. I think that brush is going in the garbage.

Thirsty Hands

Tonight at Morning Star Baptist it was a little warm in the church. To top it off, I was dressed for a snow storm so I was pretty warm. Plus I was signing for Annie in the church. So... as you can imagine, I kept getting warmer. During the service I stood up to get a drink of water thinking it might help. It did, to some degree.

After church we had a fellowship for several reasons. As I was leaving Mr. Ascher (for those of you who don't know, he is the gentleman smiling in the picture in the post below or before this one) called out my name from afar. I walked over to him and bend in to hear him better among all the happy chattering downstairs. With a smile on his face he said, "I just had to share with you that tonight when you stood up to get a drink of water, I thought to myself... her hands must be thirsty.. HAHAHAHAHA".... Of course I laughed along... too funny!!! That comment, Mr. Ascher, totally made my day. Thank you!

A Night at the Aschers

I could explain all the things that happened tonight at the Aschers but I think the pictures will explain it better than I ever could. I will say that we enjoyed a nice dinner and then a card game. Although things could have gotten more wild than it did tonight but everyone was tired from a long week. Enjoy.

Happy St. Patrick Day!!

The Kilt and Clover is one of the greatest stores in Rockford. This store is based on Irish and Scottish imports. I always love going in there just browsing. I got my bridesmaids earrings in there and many other things. Today they hosted a traditional Irish dance. Here are some pictures of the girls performing. Whether you are Irish, Swedish or German.... this store is meant for everyone who love Ireland.