Random Fact of the Day #1

The same person who voiced Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh also voiced Optimus Prime from The Transformers.

I know. Crazy, but true. I googled it.

A birthday present to myself. Most comfortable shorts ever.

I Love Applesauce

Per my friend Lori's suggestion, this evening's post will be about applesauce. I would have to say that cinnamon applesauce is by far my favorite. I have also tried strawberry applesauce and obviously, plain applesauce. But neither of them makes me feel like I could eat applesauce everyday for the rest of my life and totally be fine with it. Something about adding cinnamon to it makes it nearly irresistable. I haven't had any in a really long time but now that I've been writing about it for the past 10 minutes, I think it'll probs be my next purchase at the grocery store.

GloZell likes cinnamon too... although I feel like she'd 

probably enjoy it more in the context of applesauce.

Hello Beach!

First and foremost, I would like to take a minute to honor my lovely roommate, Miss Elizabeth Ann Snyder who is turning 29 years young today. The best part about this (aside from the whole thing about her having life and all that jazz) is that there are officially 365 days left for Liz to complete her "30 before 30" list. Happy Birthday my dear friend! I'm so excited to help you knock some things off your list- even if that means forcing... ahem, I mean gently encouraging... certain people to participate :)

Today, some of us staff were finally able to grace the beach with our presence. The weather was awesome and the water was so refreshing. We busted out the frisbee, tried to not get swallowed by the huge waves, and soaked up as much sun as possible.

I sadly made the poor choice of wearing my adidas sandals that have those little "massage" bumps that hurt LIKE CRAZY if you're not used to wearing those types of shoes. As the skin of my feet were being ripped off, I decided I would rather brave the rocky, pebbled streets and searing hot sand than wear my shoes. So now, my feet feel like I've walked over a coal bed littered with knives. All to say that the next thing on my to-do list is to buy some new sandals.

This evening, my roommates and I made a trip to Cape May (a nearby beach resort community) and had an awesome dinner at this little taco place called Key West Tacos. Their guac was awesome... not quite as good as my homemade recipe but still pretty delicious :) We then took a walk around the adorable town which had a "Stars Hollow" feel (Gilmore Girls anyone?) and ate some gelato. I chatted it up with the owners who were from Milan and we discussed the awesomeness of being Italian... although I'm not sure they believed that I was of Italian descent given the blonde hair and blue eyes. But it was a lovely convo nevertheless.

And then we ran into this horse with a highlighter yellow strap thing on him. He knows what's up.

I miss the babies!

So. Like I said, Wildwood is great so far, but one huge downfall is that I'm leaving Anders behind for 6 weeks and he's going to be so much bigger when I get back. He's currently about 12 weeks old and I have this fear that he won't want to snuggle with me anymore when I get home because he'll forget who I am. But then again, he's a cat. And I don't think his brain is very big so I doubt he remembers much as it is. And Verbal is in the cutest stage right now I can barely stand it. I just kiss his little face all of the time. Are you starting to become concerned with my obsession with these cats? Seriously, they're so ridiculously precious that I just can't help myself. See for yourself.

Wildwood Update

My first two full days in Wildwood, NJ have been great and I'm starting to remember the refreshment that comes with being in a brand new place and the growth that accompanies the process of building new friendships. Starting over isn't something I've done in a quite a while... well, I guess Australia was only a year and a half ago... but nevertheless, I know that God loves bringing me to places like this- places that are new and unfamiliar... places where I can't as easily slip into the mind-numbing daily routines that sometimes get me so ridiculously self-absorbed in my own comfortable little world that I start to forget the truth about who God is, the truth about who I am, and the reality that He loves me so freakin' much that I will never be able to wrap my mind around it.

So. There will be much more to come on my Wildwood adventures. But for now, my prayer is that I will be present and alive and focused on the people around me- and that maybe God, in His mercy, will continue to refresh my soul.

My huge birthday ice cream cone on the boardwalk

Happy Birthday Caroline!

Today is a great day, despite the fact that my wonderful friend is currently 675 miles away.  I would like to take the opportunity to celebrate the creator of this blog and the wearer of all things highlighter, and to wish her the happiest of happy birthdays!

Guess who's back? Back again?

Hello and good evening to you old friends.  Liz here - ready to grace the pages of the Furger's blog once again.  So much has happened since we last had a chance to chat...

... errrr.... let's be honest, nothing has happened besides my rapid transformation into an old cat lady.

But furrealzz, how can you not fall in love with this face???

Anywho.  In honor of Furgie's current roadtrip, I thought it would be appropriate to detail a potential trek that I am hoping to embark on this summer.  One of my lacrosse girls spends her summers in Nantucket.  Her family has rented the same home year after year, and while they don't have bedroom space for us, they apparently have a wonderful yard fit for pitching a tent.  So the offer has been laid out on the table - grab 3 or 4 other mulaxers, drive 17 hours to Massachusetts, and hang out on an awesome east coast island for a few days.  The thought is we will swing through Cleveland and Buffalo on the way there to pick up some familiar faces, spend an extra weekend in Boston, then drive back home through NY and/or DC.

Gosh.  Epic.

Now's the hard part:  do I live responsibly and build into my life/the relationship I have here in Oxbox? Or do I embrace the opportunity for adventure, ditch work for 10 days, and hit the road to rack up miles on my car and memories in my heart.  5 years ago this was a no-brainer, but my *almost* 29 year old self has about 30 solid logical reasons to say hell-no-we-won't go.  White middle class problems, right?

I'm not Highlighter, but you get the point.
And it helps that I am delicious.

Wildwood, here I come!

Today, in approximately one hour, I will be making a trip to the east coast to spend my summer in Wildwood, New Jersey for Cru's Summer Project. Two years ago, I attended project in Virginia Beach, VA and I am so excited to experience SP from the staff side of things! On Project, students get a full-time job in the community, learn how to share their faith, and spend their evenings hosting/participating in community-wide events. This summer will be such an amazing opportunity for these 60 students coming to Wildwood to experience fellowship and growth in their relationships with each other and with the Lord. Will you join me in praying for them?

Our precious baby boys FINALLY snuggling in each
other's presence as opposed to the almost constant
wrestling that is usually going on between them.

Song Obsession #12

Just discovered this gem last weekend. So. Awesome.

Liz's kitty, Verbal. So stinkin cute.

BYOWM, round 2

Bring Your Own Warm Marshmallows! That was the theme of this week's BYOWM party. Students brought S'mores materials while non-students brought potluck dinner items including fruit salad, regular mac n cheese, chipotle mac n cheese, and chips and salsa. Mmmm delicious.

 Pictured below is the unique way in which we roast marshmallows here at Northridge apts :)

Blow torch!

A Sunny Day in the DubC

Today, Liz and I spent the afternoon in West Chester to celebrate my birthday with my parents. We hit up some of my favorite West Chester spots including Red Robin for lunch, Eagle Tee for a round of putt-putt golf and The Cone for some delicious ice cream. It was a gorgeous day and such an awesome way to celebrate my 23rd year post-birth. And my dad bought me these epic shorts at Dick's. Seriously, what more could I ask for? :)

Farewell Smurfs :(

Today was my last day coaching my precious 10u girls fastpitch team since I'll be heading off to New Jersey in a couple of days. Sadly, we suffered a rough loss to Loveland (7-9) but in the girls' defense, it was freaking hot outside. It was also picture day which was pretty exciting. And Welker and I may or may not have gotten a nerdy "back-to-back with bats over the shoulders" coaches picture to add to our "memory mate" picture package. Epic.

Flashback: Sanibel Island, Spring Break 2009

Mmm... The Root Beer Stand

... where it takes less time to order, eat, and get the check than it does to drive to the atm to get the cash needed to pay for the meal.

Flashback: Christmas reunion with softball friends!

Athens, here we come!

List of Thursday's activities as they unfolded:

-wake up at 5:45am to get ready for job interview

-attend interview at 8:30am

-sleep while Liz drives to Athens 9:30am-12pm

-get lunch at some awesome, weird hot dog place with Liz and Tina (Liz's sister)

-toss lacrosse (apparently its nerdy to phrase it that way and I'm supposed to say "throw lacrosse" but I prefer to rhyme whenever possible)

-go to the coffee shop where Tina works 

-eat dinner at a tiny Mediterranean diner place, so good

-go to Jackie O's and hang out with Tina's friends 7-9:30pm

-KROGER! Yes, we explored the Athens kroger which was very exciting. 9:45-10:15pm

-11:05pm- sleep.

Flashback: Jackie O's with Kofenya staff, Athens, December 2011

Song Obsession #11

Gatlinburg hiking flashback: This is me realizing that
walking across the river on this log was probably a bad idea

Meet the Anders Family

This is the awesome family that my precious cat was partially named after. The Anders family hosted me during my time in Australia and it was the best living situation I could've asked for while abroad. Jaye (15) and Keiley (10) became my temporary siblings and my host mom Karen is probably the most generous person I've ever met. She completely opened her home to me and welcomed me into the family from the moment I arrived. I was incredibly blessed to have them in my life, even if for a short time, and I hope I'll have the chance to return to Australia and see them again :)

BYOWM

Tonight, I attended a Bring Your Own Weird Meat party... and it was awesome. Shark jerky, Elk patties, and Wild Boar Bacon were among the strange meats and what's even better is that we've decided to have parties with the acronym BYOWM all summer long! Bring Your Own... Whistling Monkey, Wild Mom, Warm Mixture are my top 3 suggestions. Any one have any other ideas? I'd love to hear them!

Flashback: Colorado, summer 2011- hiking Horsetooth Mountain

Anders is no longer the baby of the family...

but sadly, this probably won't be a permanent thing :( Liz found Anders' long lost twin walking down 27 today in the rain. He was dirty, soaking wet, and the saddest little thing you've ever seen. So naturally, Liz  passed him and kept driving. BUT then she turned around, scooped the precious thing up in her t-shirt, and brought him home :) He's probably about 6 weeks old and has a hurt back leg and we would LOVE to keep him (he's already pretty positive that Liz is his mama... he's been attempting to nurse on her hand which is the cutest/weirdest thing ever) but we probs won't be able to swing two kitties in the furlong/snyder/tyler household. Anders is keeping us on our toes as it is.

Here are some pics of the little guy. Seriously. Looks JUST like Anders.

I don't think Anders was ever this shy. Hence,
the next photo.

This one is Anders... without a head (aka he just realized that he was about 5 ft off the ground and was assessing the damage that would be
caused to his tiny legs by attempting to jump)

The Avengers, round 2

Tonight, I saw The Avengers for the second time this week... and it was as epic this time as it was the first. If you haven't already, you should check it out. 

Flashback: Indy Christmas Conference 2010

A visit to the West Side :)

Oh you know, just enjoying a FACE CONE !!!!!! at the
Zippy Dip. No big deal.

I know that you can't see them but I promise
that the highlighter yellow shoes are there...
they're always there :)

Go Smurfs!

So. I help coach this 10u softball team in the Lakota Sports Organization. The girls have proudly decided that our team name should be "The Smurfs" since we are blue and our record is currently 1-0-1 (one win, zero losses and one tie for those of you who may be unacquainted with sports lingo). I'm not sure that we're really supposed to even be keeping track of our record... but I do anyways. This culturally-indoctrinated obsession with competition that I may or may not struggle with is quite the motivator to win. I'll be sure to keep you updated on the Smurfs in the weeks to come!

Flashback: 2 days ago when he hadn't yet entered his "terrible 9 weeks"
phase. Anders' current favorite activities are scratching and biting at hands and feet.
That'll be a fun one to try to break him of. Can anybody say "squirt bottle?"

Happy 130th Day of Highlighter Yellow!

Snuggling with Prayer Bear

More pictures from the Flying Pig!

So this guy from the Cincinnati Enquirer walks up to us in Hyde Park while we're cheering and is like, "Hey, can I take some pictures of you?"

So here is the product. You can check out more pics (of people who actually ran the race as opposed to those of us who just stood on the sidelines in weird outfits with strange instruments) from this guy at...

http://cincinnati.metromix.com/events/standard_photo_gallery/flying-pig-marathon-2012/3054935/content

Ok. So I know it looks weird that my hand is in my sleeve
but that dang cowbell was giving me wicked blisters

Another picture of the baby!

Flashback: Anders and Liz on his first day at the apartment!

26.2 miles is a long way to run

Today was the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati and I joined my friends Kim and Spencer to cheer on some people we knew who were running in the race. Although waking up at 4:30 in the morning usually isn't my cup of tea, it was an exciting morning of watching people conquer a huge feat. It was fun and inspiring and maybe one day I'll run it too. Just maybe.

Spencer wearing his construction hat

Happy Graduation Weekend!

This weekend is Miami University's graduation weekend. It's insane to think how fast this year has gone by. It's definitely sad to see people go but, with graduation weekend comes the beautiful reality that Oxford Summer will begin in 2 days! Students will be gone and the townsfolk (I include myself in this category these days) get to enjoy the peaceful awesomeness that this precious small town has to offer when it is void of the constant drunkeness of the inhabitants during the school year.

Flashback- Tasmania, March 2011

Song Obsession #10

Why is he soooo stinkin cute? I never get anything done anymore.

Summer's almost here!

Today is Thursday of finals week here at Miami University which means that in just a few days, students will be gone and Oxford Summer will begin! Intramural softball under the lights on cook field, live music uptown on Thursday nights, farmers market on saturday mornings... and soooo many other awesome perks of living in a small town. Can't. Wait.

Flashback: Club softball reunion, summer 2011

Mmmm Montgomery Inn

We had our end of the year Cru staff dinner at Montgomery Inn last night and it was such a fun and delicious way to conclude our year of ministry at Miami!

Next up: Summer Project :) More on that later.

Group nap time at the apartment

Happy Birth Month!

Today is May 1st and thus, the celebration of birth month is officially under way. Everyone knows that May is the best month in which to be born so here's a quick run down of all of the awesome people I can think of off the top of my head who born in May.

Kyle Bateman, May 15
Wil Begley, May 22
Brian Faust, May 23
Caroline Furlong, May 24
Laura Sullivan, May 24
Annie Bilancini, May 28
Liz Snyder, May 28

Anders took his first trip to West Chester to
visit his grandma and grandpa :)