This is me ENGAGED!!!!

This weekend Glenn and I went to Baylor for Homecoming! We got in and unloaded the car at Kristy’s and headed to dinner before going to the bonfire. Let me preface that Glenn was all dressed up and was I extremely annoyed. I wanted to wear jeans but knew we were going to be taking a lot of pictures and didn’t want to look funny next to him looking all fancy. We went to dinner and had a blast with friends we haven’t seen in awhile, thanks to these wonderful blogs we all knew what was going on in each others lives! We headed to the bonfire and we wandered around. Glenn suggested that we get up close to the bonfire so we could watch the pep rally and still be in a good spot for the bonfire. Then Glenn suggested that he could go get the mascot to take pictures with (Glenn used to mascot for Baylor and he knew the guy that was mascoting at the bonfire). I was so excited to get pictures with Brusier (name of the mascot). So Glenn left after the pep rally was over and they started to light the bonfire. Then I see Glenn and Bruiser coming toward us inside the barricade they had set up around the bonfire. I noticed that Brusier had something in his hand, I just figured it’d be t-shirts he was going to give away. Brusier came up to me and grabbed my hand and started pulling me toward the bonfire. I just thought he was doing a silly mascot thing. Then he faced me toward the crowd and handed me what he had. It was at that point that I realized what was happening. On the cover of the package was an envelope that said “open me”. Brusier pointed to it because I was frozen I couldn’t stop shaking! I opened the envelope and the card said “Brusier says read this.” I ripped open the package and found what I knew would be there a Bible with what will be my married name on it Jennifer E. Roush. I looked up and Glenn was on his knee and asked “Jennifer Elizabeth LeForce will you marry me.” I’m not sure at what point I said yes, but I did. I just grabbed Glenn and cried. He asked me if I wanted my ring and of course I said yes! It’s beautiful and absolutely perfect, he did a great job! All my friends were all in on it. And let me take a moment to say thanks to all of you who had a part in it, it was a perfect day that I will never forget. Glenn and I went onto Pigskin where I saw Alpha Chi perform and then we went back to Cheese’s and had a toast, a perfect end to a perfect day!

Yippee: I have a fabulous fiancé!
Blasted: So busy at work had not time to post that I was engaged

This is Baylor Homecoming!

I am so excited to be going to Waco for Homecoming 2005, and also so nice rest and relaxation and great times with friends! Glenn and I are driving down and going to the bonfire, then on to Pigskin (which I am very excited about my sorority made it in after 20 years of losing streaks!), then to the parade in the morning (which will be very chilly) but Glenn is insistent upon going I don’t know what his deal is, it’s like he was actually into the whole school spirit thing* ! Also I’m attending my college roommates wedding shower (cake is always exciting)! Glenn and I are staying with our lovely friends Kristy and Lee, they let us invade and mooch when we come into town! It’s gonna be a blast I predict much merry making and laughter.

On another note Rodi has to wear her collar for another week. She is a very sad puppy. So she’s having to travel to Waco with her collar. I’ve told her not to let the other puppies (Macie (Kristy’s shi tzu, Cosmo, Michelle’s cookapoo) comments hurt her feelings. And that sometimes other puppies say mean things and they don’t really mean it. Although Kristy has informed me that she’s going to tell Macie not to make fun of Rodi.

Yippee: To spending a green and gold weekend in Waco!
Blasted: Putting of doing laundry for far too long. (limited wardrobe)

*This is a joke in reference to the fact that Glenn was the Baylor Mascot while in school, until he was recruited to mascot for the Minnesota Timberwolves!

This is Rodi's Collar

Rodi has been through so many ordeals … she’s had 12 teeth pulled, been subjected to many different antibiotics in many forms (in peanut butter, bread, straight though a syringe). And now she faces the battle of the skin infection. She’s been to the vet twice for this, once to be diagnosed and the other to check up and see if she needed more treatment. At the second one they told me she would have to have her chin shaved, in order to do this she’d have to be sedated. I was not thrilled (neither was she). So I took her in again for the procedure and when I picked her up I found out she was a very good girl and didn’t have to be sedated! She let the nurse shave her chin with no major incident. But she is now wearing a lovely new E-Collar! It is a clear, cone shaped collar to keep her from scratching her chin, because that’s part of the reason it won’t heal because she keeps scratching it! So when we got home she hated it. Mainly because when she walks she loves to keep her nose close to the ground, just in case she smells something extremely important, or something not important at all! But she can’t do that at all now because her collar will catch on the concrete. It’s quite sad, not to mention the fact she can’t scratch anymore. But we went to Target the other day and I found sticky rhinestones and decided Rodi’s collar needed some jazzing up! So I embellished a little, it’s fabulous! Hopefully she’ll be out of it by middle of next week. But until then she’s as sassy as she can be!

On a different note, Glenn and I went to the Fair and had a blast! We rode the swings and the ferris wheel. Glenn got his funnel cake and I got my Belgium waffle (at long last) it was perfection! It was a beautiful day and I couldn’t have asked for a better day with Glenn! We just had a great time watching all the people all around the fair. We debated riding the crazy rides but opted, wanting to keep our lives!

Yippee – For going to FireWheel shopping center on a beautiful Saturday!

Blasted – Rodi being depressed because she has to wear her cone :(

This is my lunch

So today I packed my lunch! Doesn’t seem like such a big deal but I never really packed a lunch except for on those rare occasions when my school would go of field trips. I was a cafeteria kinda girl. We have a cafeteria here at work, but buying lunch everyday starts to add up (I am aware that this is a very boring subject, my apologies). One of the main reasons that I brought my lunch was because my boss gave me a lunch bag yesterday that has our logo on it, I figured why not use it! So I had a salad with carrots I made a special vinegar and oil concoction last night that turned out to be wonderful. And of course string cheese (gotta get that dairy in). Yet, another reason for my sudden domesticness, I’m starting Weight Watchers again, mainly in sheer fear that I won’t fit into my bridesmaid dress for Michelle’s wedding in December! I’m counting down the days, possible hours, that it will take for me to become points obsessed. For those of you who have done WW or been around a person who has, knows this point. Your life is consumed with points, you can’t look at any possible portion of food without trying to calculate how many points it would cost you if you at it right then. You tell loved ones things they should and should not eat. You tell people you eat with, consult with other WW members at the table, it’s a ridiculous stage, but I will most likely reach it within a week. I chose a very bad time to start again seeing that Glenn and I will be traveling to the fair again this weekend and out of sheer guilt I won’t be able to eat anything. On a complete side note I’m thinking about attending a belly dancing class here in Dallas!

Blasted- Rodi had to go to the vet today so they can shave her chin as to completely clean the skin infection on her chin. She has to be sedated, and she’s gonna look really funny after today.

Yippee – I'm getting to go see the “Magic Flute” for my birthday (in Feb.)!

This is the Great State Fair

This weekend my friends from Waco came up and we all went to the Great State Fair of Texas! It was a good thing they had me there cause I’d gone earlier in the week with co-workers for a team building project for five hours so needless to say I knew my way around! Lee, Kristy, Molly and Steven came, I was very sad because Glenn wasn’t able to make it back from Waco in time to go with us. We parked and started our adventure; we did all sorts of things like played games (I won a rose and no telling how much money it took me to win it!) We all ate, Molly and Steven had corn dogs, the boys had turkey legs, Kristy and I had Slurpees what more could you ask for? Some of the highlights of our trip to the fair were the giant swings (my personal favorite) it just makes you feel like a kid again, you could see to downtown when you were on it! Then we went in one of the many fun houses! At first we thought we weren’t going to be allowed because there was a sign that said no open toe shoes (all the girls were wearing flip flops). But the carnette (my feminine version of carney) that was manning it said she had things to put over our feet (doesn’t that sound clean). So we donned these very interesting contraptions that were clear plastic that slipped over the front of our feet and elastic looped around the back (can you say ghetto, but who are we kidding this is the fair). We made our way through the fun house knocking into walls, almost falling over, playing dance dance revolution and then the finale! We walk up these stairs were we were instructed to sit on this bench when we sat down we could see that it was obviously the last part of the fun house. I didn’t know what was going to happen. The carney asked us if we knew what to do and as we were shaking our head no, he pulls a lever and the bench comes out from underneath us! So we are unexpectedly dropped onto this big conveyor belt that obviously ends very quickly. I start worrying that we are going to be dumped onto a hard surface, but when the belt ended and we all fell onto another soft conveyor belt! And finally we reached ground and assessed injuries. I had ended up racking Lee (sorry Lee) and Kristy ended up getting a nasty rug burn on her arm! While we did come out a little beaten up we got a big kick out of it! We kept walking around the fair and when it started to get dark we made our way to the Ferris wheel. We all enjoyed it (well, Steven did enjoy it as much). Then we stayed to watch the light show!

Afterwards we went to dinner at The Melting Pot, an absolutely wonderful fondue restaurant. I’d been there before but I don’t think everyone else had. We enjoyed and very good and very long meal (note to the wise: if you want to eat a full meal at a fondue restaurant block out at least 2 ½ hours). Kristy and I almost couldn’t contain ourselves when they brought out the cheese! We had our meal and then the dessert which was wonderful! All in all it was a great day with friends! We were all exhausted but it was worth it!

Blasted: To the cold I woke up with on Sunday.

Yippee: It’s a Monday I can’t really think of a Yippee.

This me giving blood

Today I did my civic duty and gave blood ( I don’t know if that’s civic or not but oh well)! I filled up the bag in six minutes, beat that! I figure I don’t mind giving blood so why not do it? But I do however forget every time the part that I hate the most (other than the finger prick) when you start to give and they lay the tube over your wrist and you feel how warm you blood is … yuck, makes me sick at my stomach. So now I’m not able to bend my right arm completely because of the bright green bandage which makes many mundane tasks quite difficult (man I hope I never have to wear a cast). For a person who doesn’t mind blood I’ve had a couple of disturbing incidents due to giving blood…

On September 12, my friends and I headed to the closest place we could give, even Michelle agreed to go which was huge! And as a perk Kristy got interviewed by a news crew (she’s that cool). So we all get in the room filled with the chairs and all took the positions, if I remember correctly Kristy and I were next to each other. So the phlebotomist starts in on my arm and somehow I manage to squirt blood, not a huge amount mind you, but I squirted nonetheless. When my friends got done gagging we had a good laugh at it!

Then later in college I decided on a whim after class to give blood in a blood mobile. I filled up my bag and headed to the front to take a seat and eat some cookies. I was feeling pretty woosy and so I stood up, stepped up the two little stairs up to the level where all the stations where and said, “I feel….” I don’t remember anything after that. The next thing I know I’m laying on one of the bed and having water poured all over me! I’d fainted. The nurses kept looking at my forehead like I had a huge growth on it and I couldn’t figure out what was going on. As soon as the commotion of me fainting wore off the nurse told me when I fainted I whacked my head on the counter! So I just laid there for awhile. The girl next to me was about to be stuck, she was as white as a sheet, I’d just keeled over right in front of her. They sent me home told me I couldn’t ride my bike, so I got to walk it all the way home. They also told me that I might have a concussion; you can image how thrilled I was. And I’m walking through campus with a soaked T-shirt and wet hair, when I see my roommate giving a tour of campus (we were both tour guides at Baylor). So of course I yelled to her and her group that I’d just fainted in the Blood Mobile. She, I’m sure, was thrilled I was making a spectacle of myself! Hey I’d just hit my head, what do you expect!

So there you have it my bloody escapdes!

Yippee – I get to eat a hearty meal (Carter Blood Care is insisting on it).
Blasted – I also ate a hearty lunch, bad Jen (they were really good quesadillas, reminded me of Collins)

This is "Wicked"

Glenn and I went to see “Wicked” at the Music Hall at Fair Park (Texas State Fairgrounds) on Saturday! It was absolutely wonderful! The music was great, the costumes were so colorful and fun and the story was fantastically written. Glenn and I decided to go early to the fair seeing that our tickets to the musical got us in the fair for free. We walked around and enjoyed seeing all the food, games and general merry making (since all the UT fans left over from the UT/OU game were still partying it up). Glenn had a corny dog and I just opted for a couple of bites and a beverage, because it is my belief that you breathe grease at the fair, so there is no real need to ingest it (yuck)! But hey it’s the experience right? I'll be getting to experience the fair a lot this year, because I'm going on Thursday with work for "team building" and this coming weekend with my friends (YEA), and Glenn and I are probably going to go again. We really wanted to play the games but felt that the other patrons at the musical might not appreciate me holding a 4’ tall giraffe for 3 hours in front of them (that’s assuming we’d actually win something)! We did enjoy the car show. I love the new Muranos and the new RAV4s they look so different than they used to (my first car was a RAV4). Overall it was a great day! I had a blast! Then of course there was wicked which was a great end to a work-filled weekend! I liked Wicked so much I bought the hoodie, it’s awesome!

Yippee – For the frozen yogurt machine at work having “Southern Strawberry” be the flavor for the week! YUM

Blasted – It looks like I’m gonna be at work till 6.

This is me and my fabulous hair

So today I went and got my hair cut and colored at a salon in Dallas. I wish I had a picture to post but sadly I do not. Warren, my hairstylist and owner of the salon, is in probably his 50’s and was wearing a very lovely, skin-tight purple shirt. He had spiky, yet tasteful, hair so I felt ok having him take me under the knife! I was worried at the beginning because when I took my hair out of my ponytail… let me sidenote here. I naturally have dark brown hair, but over that past several years have managed to make my self into a semi-blond, this has wreaked havoc on my hair, so now you know… back to where I was… I took down my ponytail Warren reached out and picked up a piece of my hair in the back and made a terrible face and asked me what I wanted to do. So then I started worrying… holy crap, Jen your at a fancy schmancy salon in Uptown Dalas with crap for hair… quick think of something to say… “Fix my bad hair,” fix my bad hair, yep that was I could think of! As I was speaking he kind of threw my hair back at me like it was diseased or something. So I said I wanted to go darker, but keep some of my blond, but that I definitely wanted it to be warmer. Then I started to feel better as he pulled out the book with all the hair samples, and proceeded to stare at me for a good five minutes debating over what color should go on my hair, sporadically pulled at my hair so he could get a better look at my roots. He picked the colors and got to work, well I say work he sent his minion off to mix his color for him.

Warren was amazingly enough not gay, quite a pleasant surprise, not that I’m against gay men or their hair styling. It’s just that there has become a stereotype of male hairdressers in the past several years. But never fear there was a gay guy working there (I think your not considered a decent salon if you don’t have one). Warren actually drives Harley’s oddly enough, but still has that edgy feel. During the course of the two hours that I spent at this lovely salon I found our many interesting things about Warren. He owns a miniature Dachshund, loves to hunt, ride Harleys, was a Navy Seal, and his wife is a manager at Cartier! So needless to say he was very interesting to get to know! It was kind of a luxury getting my hair done at a fancy salon. All my hairdressers in the past have well not been high end. So it was really fabulous to get blown out by two people, well cool, but they each kept jerking my head in opposite directions. But when it was done I looked fabulous! It such a shame you can’t take those people with you, your hair never looks as good when you do it! Now I must say that I almost fell on the floor when I found out how much I owed this lovely little salon. But in the end it was worth to feel fabulous for a day (or at least a morning)!

Yippee- For my lovely new do

Blasted- I still have to work on Saturday

This is me ranting and Happy Birthday Cheese

Today I feel like ranting, rambling, whatever you want to call it!

For the past two days I’ve had a Strawberries N’ Cream Slim Fast Shake for breakfast, I have come to conclude it could possibly be one of the worst things I’ve ever drank. It’s that really bad taste that makes you shiver as you swallow, yeah, it’s that bad! But I’ve sucked both of the down simply because I had nothing else to sustain me for the rest of the morning, other than the vast amount of candy strewn all over my desk, that my loving co-workers leave when I’m not here to object. So basically I spent the morning with a nasty taste in my mouth!

As a remedy to my lethargic state that I have had as of late, I’m taking up climbing the stairs at work. I know this isn’t running four miles everyday, but hey it’s something, I really must start working out.

So this weekend I will be traveling to the glamorous Waco for my friend, Kristy’s birthday(She is pictured above with me, she the one without braids in her hair, I had them because I'm super cool). Kristy, aka Cheese, is a great and wonderful friend, and I am very glad she was born, hence the birthday celebration. Kristy was my college apartment mate (because we did not share a room, my roomie was Michelle), we all lived in the same apartment for three years it was a blast. I have purchased a gift that I think she will enjoy greatly. Cheese is a great friend because she is an excellent listener and has been given the gift of discernment (with the exception of her overzealous love for cheese, but who wants discernment when cheese cubes are involved?). Because of this great gift she is very good at giving advice or straightening you out when you need it, which Michelle and I needed a lot of in college. But I have many great memories because of her friendship, we’ve laughed so hard we’ve cried, and together we tackled a mountain and forced Michelle to clean out the freezer! So here’s to Cheese! Happy Birthday!

Yippee: I get to see my friends this weekend to celebrate the birthday of Cheese!

Blasted: I have to work on Saturday, SATURDAY!

This is my weekend (at a glance)

My weekend had been a crazy one. It all started on Wednesday, I think it was, when my father called me at work. I work for the GuideStone Financial Resources and we make available insurance and retirement product to those that are in ministry work. Because of this I always joke that everyone I work with has either been a preacher, gone to seminary or went to Baylor! My father calls me to ask if I knew anyone at work that would be willing to come preach at our church on Sunday, because we are currently without a pastor! I joked with him that he should ask Glenn, my boyfriend (who happens to be a licensed minister). I was joking, my dad took me seriously! So he calls Glenn who had had a very busy week and his weekend was just as booked (literally with weddings and events he was DJing). But because I date an extremely nice guy, and the fact that he’s trying to win my father over so he’ll let us get married, he said yes! I was not exactly thrilled, I knew how worn out he’d be, and on top of it I couldn’t go because I’d promised my neighbor that I’d watch her dog over the weekend! But Glenn had made up his mind, he was going to OK, and he was gonna get to go to a football game too (OSU v CU). Well when my father finds out that I can’t come because I’m watching dogs all weekend, he does what any sensible father would do, he offers to pay to have the dogs boarded. Now I wasn’t about ready to knock on my neighbors door to see if she’d let me board her dog! Well I was feeling terrible that I wasn’t going to go to OK with Glenn, seeing as it was kinda my fault that he was going in the first place. So I call a boarder to see if they have room for Rodi Saturday and Sunday. I had planned on asking my neighbor if one of our other neighbor friends might be able to let the dog out. I get back to my place of Friday and my neighbor tells me she doesn’t need me to let the dog out because her plans had changed. So I started packing! We left at 7am on Saturday and headed up I-35 for Nash, OK, pop. 200! We make it to the football game in which OSU embarrassed themselves by not scoring a single point! But it was still fun nonetheless. We got home and Glenn started preparing to speak to a whopping congregation of 45 or so people! Well Sunday came and Glenn delivered an excellent sermon from the story in Numbers when the spies are sent into the Promised Land and all of them come back saying they can’t take the land, except for 2 spies, Caleb and Joshua. And they say that God promised us this land and we can take it. It was so good in fact he had several of the ladies in our church weeping, because as one of them put it, “It was exactly what our church needed to hear.” For sermon notes, ask Glenn. But needless to say it was very good and I was very proud of the man I love! He is an excellent speaker, and very genuine. From there we ate lunch and headed home. I love my hometown, my home, and I don’t miss the Oklahoma wind!