I finally had a weekend that consisted of more than MLC and lounging on the couch. Friday night I spent nearly 4 hours at Chile's with 3 other friends talking and laughing. We were killing time until our movie that started at 10:15. Deanna and I watched "A lot like love." We thorougly enjoyed it and talked about it the whole way home that night.

On Saturday I met up with Tommy and Stephanie and we drove to Williamsburg, Va.

We ate lunch with her brother and then walked around the free part of colonial Williamsburg. We visited a super-old church that George Washinton, Thomas Jefferson, and many others attended. They had assigned seating back then so we got to see their pews. Not surprising that Washington had the front pew. There was even a fancy throne-type seat in the church that was saved for whichever British high-up that was in visiting. But now that seat is strictly reserved for the Govenor of Virginia only. Too bad I did not take my camera with me to Williamsburg!

Also while in Williamsburg we stopped by the William and Mary Barnes and Noble bookstore. Me, Tommy, and Stephanie all bought W&M hats. Tommy and I only slightly felt like traitors to LA Tech.

After the bookstore Steph took us on a mini-tour of W&M campus and showed us where she spent most of her college days....what a nerd, she spent most of her time in the chemistry lab (when she wasn't in the pool for swim team, of course). What a concept...studying in college....or studying at all!

When we got back to Richmond we hung out at Tommy and Steph's for a while before we went to the movies later that night to watch "Sahara." It was actually pretty good, a lot better than I was expecting.

It was a good weekend! I will miss the Knighten's when I leave Va (insert really sad face here).

Speaking of leaving Virginia...I do that in one month from today on May 25.........

I had a friend email me asking me to write an update....the problem with writing an update is there is little to update on, unless you are interested in how many times a week I go to Wal-mart or what tv show currently has me hooked. Regardless of how uninteresting I am, here goes an update....

Another week down and less than six weeks until I leave Richmond. I am very eager to get to Texas!
So it is yet another Saturday with nothing to do. Or maybe it is another Saturday with no motivation to do anything.
I went to DC this week with Paige and Deanna. Deanna was flying out of Dulles for a trip home and so Paige and I "volunteered" to take her to the airport. But we did not so much mind taking her because we got to go shopping all day before dropping her off at the airport.
As I am typing this I am listening to Jimmy Buffett and James Taylor. The result--it makes me wish I were on the beach.
Well, that is all I can stand to type for now...this music is making me get cabin fever and I am gonna head outside for a while. Stay tuned........

Paige and I at Deanna's birthday party. Paige and I met in Zambia.

So I took a personality test online, here is a "trait snapshot" of me...

messy, disorganized, not rule conscious, rebellious, rash, weird, ambivalent about chaos, likes bizarre things, anti-authority, not good at saving money, not a perfectionist, leaves many things unfinished, low self control, strange, desires more attention, romantic daydreamer, abstract, impractical, unproductive, leisurely, likes the unknown

I have to say that not all of those are exactly positive but for the most part it is accurate. I do not really sound like the kind of employee an employer would hire...or the type of student that a seminary would accept. Thank goodness "diversity" and "uniqueness" are good things.

World Water Day

Go here and click
http://www.aquaplastics.org/

my roomie, Deanna


AT LEAST once a day people ask if we are sisters, some even go so far as to ask if we are twins. I mean, we even get stopped in Wal-Mart and the mall!! We don't really see it. We are guessing it is the Irish blood in us. I have gotten to the point that I say yes when people ask b/c it is easier.


me and Karen getting ready to clean...and all decked out in green

This weekend was pretty uneventful. So much so that we volunteered our services to help our friend Jonathan clean his house. Yeah, cleaning!?!??! Obviously that was not my idea. And we went to help him out because he bought this house in November and bless his heart it is like the movie "The Money Pit." I swept up dustpan's full of sawdust and nails...in the kitchen alone!
But it was a nice trade off, he cooked supper for us in return.

Was it just a Howard thing??

Yesterday I went with my roomie, Deanna, to Norfolk, Va. She had a job interview and I had the day off.
So to get to Norfolk you must drive through a 2 to 3 mile long tunnel. I got very excited when Deanna informed me of our imminent adventure...I was all smiles and giggles (imagine that). When we entered the tunnel I immediately rolled down my window, stuck my head out, and screamed at the top of my lungs. When I came back inside the automobile Deanna had a perplexing look on her face and asked me what in the world did I just do. "Are you serious?" was my reply. I thought everyone knew the tunnel rule...which is when passing through a tunnel one must yell, honk the horn, or make as much noise as possible.
She had truly never heard of such nor had she ever taken part. I was shocked! I proceeded to tell her how when we were growing up and traveling with our parents and we encountered a tunnel, my dad would always roll our windows down and we would cram our heads out the window and shout at the top of our lungs....and all the while, my dad would be honking the horn and yelling out his window while my mom would cover her ears and watch nervously from the front seat making sure that we did not fall out the window. Ahhh, good times road tripping with the Howard's in our Pontiac station wagon!
The more I think about the tunnel rule I am realizing that it did not only apply to driving. I remember growing up on Lake Providence and going fishing with my family. There was one tunnel inparticular that you could go through in your boat that went under a road. This tunnel was always a highlight in our fishing experience because everytime we went through it we got to yell and holler and scare away all the fish.
So really, was this just a weirdo Howard thing or did anyone else abide by the tunnel rule when they were growing up? Either way it doesn't matter because I plan to carry on the tradition.

Better than the playground at McDonald's...

Since it is my weekend to work, I am unable to leave campus. I can do anything I want, but I just can't leave . And what does this "campus" look like you ask....well, it is actually quite nice and out in the middle of nowhere on 260 acres of Virginia countryside. It is a conference center so it has a fully equiped kitchen/cafeteria, a library, computer lab, an auditorium to hold over 500 people, numerous classrooms, quads (like a house, but is divided into 4 separate apartments that can hold 4 people in each apartment), dorms, a soccer field, sand volleyball court, a river, a gym (the basketball court kind, not work out) several playgrounds, a barn and silo, a lake, a gazebo by the lake, and a globe shaped water fountain.....and I have access to the golf cart.
So, as you can see I have a lot of room to roam and this weekend has been quite nice. Saturday there were people still on campus but now today (Sunday) they are all gone and I am the only soul on campus...my roomate, Deanna, is on vacation and Jeremy is out with friends from church. It has been a wonderful day! Today I slept in, swang on the swingset, went for a leisurely Sunday afternoon drive in the golf cart, raided the kitchen for some cashews and a Pepsi, made some salsa, listened to just about every Jack Johnson song ever recorded, washed some clothes, walked down to the river, and am seriously contemplating doing pilates via the movie screen in the huge meeting room.
Speaking of Jack Johnson....man, do I like him a lot! Did anyone catch him on SNL last night? He was quite fabulous and on one of his songs G. Love performed with him...it put me in a good mood at 12:45AM! And G. Love......I have a little crush on him......along with Jack, John Mayer, Steven Tyler, and the Maroon 5 guy....actually that list could go on and on. But I think G. Love is the front runner as of last night b/c he was on the harmonica and I am a sucker for that musical instrument for some reason.....except I will say that John Popper from Blues Traveler does NOT do it for me.

Hmmm, I wonder which one of these would make the best match for Ashley???

Let's take a vote....

G. Love

Jack Johnson

John Mayer

Steven Tyler

Adam Levine (Maroon 5)

John Popper....Sorry, nothing personal

Now that I have revamped the website, there is a comments section. So leave a comment or two...you know you want to!

So today is Friday. Normally I would be excited about the weekend but this weekend is an exception because I have to work on Saturday and Sunday from 7am-11pm....yuck. But the plus side is I get Monday and Tuesday off...yippee!
I hate to admit it but I have become hooked on several tv shows. Some of my favorites are Alias (I think every girl secretly desires to be Sidney Bristow), American Idol, Survivor, and The Amazing race. Is it strange that all but one of those shows is a reality show? What is it with reality tv? Why is it so addicting? I mean, the shows themselves are not that outstanding so how come they can suck me in so easily and captivate my interest?
Oh, another show I catch myself scheduling around is Oprah. Seventeen years strong and she still has an ever-growing, faithful following. Now I certainly don't buy into her new-age, many roads to God, remember your spirit theology but the woman really does do and has done some amazing things. Granted, she has the money to do amazing things, but so does Donald Trump and yet I do not hear of him fully supporting orphans in South Africa or building a Boys and Girls Club in Mississippi, or throwing a baby shower for over 600 expectant mothers whose husbands are fighting in Iraq. And besides, her show is the only one on when I get home from work.

So, I changed the color scheme a bit. We will see how long it lasts.

I think it is time to update the look. Expect changes coming soon...not that anyone still reads this or that I even write often......

So what in the world is the deal with the weather in Virginia??? Yestersday it was in the 70's and the sun felt so good on your skin....I even thought to myself that if I were the kind of person who liked to lay out then yesterday would have been a great opportunity. So this moring I woke up to a dark, rainy day. I thought the rain and chilly temperature was enough of a contrast....and then came the SNOW! Yes, that is right, snow. I was sitting at work and looked out the window and saw nothing but white snowflakes being furiously blown about by the wind.

Unfortunately (or maybe luckily), drastic weather changes is about the most excitement I am seeing these days. I think people should come visit me here. I promise to make it worth your while. Oh, my dad had a birthday last week, so that is note-worthy news.

Happy Birthday, daddy!

Not a lot to report from Richmond. Although yesterday was exciting because it started snowing! It snowed hard enough that the ground was blanketed in about 45 minutes. The only bad part is it was too powdery and a lot of it blew off the ground by 5pm....so we did not get to sled down the hills. But the good news is it is supposed to snow some more this weekend. MLC is a great place to be snowed in...you are snowed in with other people to play with, there are many hills to sled down, an endless food supply, and a roommate who has a chick-flick friendly video/dvd library.

On Tuesday I flew back home to La. I was met at the airport by my mom, cousin, and two friends, Kristin and Kim....good times!
The weather here has been pretty yuck since being home...sleet, ice, rain. Today we braved the treacherous conditions and joined all the other hard-headed holiday travelers on the road. We were bound and determined to make it to my grandparents house in Heber Springs, Arkansas. In some areas the roads were completely iced over and many cars were in the ditches. I was so nervous sitting in the back behind the drivers seat. It took us 8 hours for a trip that is usually only 5. I spent most of those 8 hours playing with the gum that I was chewing by wrapping it around my finger and biting it....yeah so my finger is nothing but a bone now. At one point my brother looked at me and said if I was trying to get rid of my finger, he had a pocketknife that would make it go a lot faster. Well, we are here and we made it safely.
So right now I am sitting in my grandparents den typing away while my grandpa (he and I are the only ones still awake...it is not even 8:30pm!) is sitting in his recliner watching "Pet Star" hosted by Mario Lopez (yes, AC Slater himself!) on Animal Planet. A pony just did some trick and the judges gave him a ten.
I always like being here at my grandparents house.
UPDATE: a cute, toothless, little redheaded boy is on "Pet Star" with his bird and they are about to sing some MoTown....should be interesting.........oh shame, the bird totally sold the little boy out and did not perform. I am embarrassed for him. Good thing the judges threw out the mercy score and gave him a high score for his effort.
Well, I guess I am gonna join my grandpa in front of the tv and watch the conclusion of "Pet Star."

So it is Christmas time again. Truly, where does the time go.
So it has been 3 and a half months since I returned to the states. I wonder if a day will ever come that I do not measure time according to when I was overseas.

Today is Friday and I am thankful for that, although I do not have a big weekend planned. I am guessing that I will be spending most of my weekend preparing to go home for the holidays. This will entail washing clothes, taking out trash, and cleaning the bathroom. Actually, all that won't take but a good 30 minutes so I guess I should look for some social outlets to fill my time. Last weekend I went on the mother of all road trips. I went to New York City and back in 24 hours!!! Crystal (a new friend that I will discuss later, and a former jman), Deanna (my quadmate and other jman here doing the same job as me), Jeremy (another jman doing my same job, yes it takes 3 of us!), and myself left Richmond at 1:42 am Saturday morning and drove 6 hours to New York. At about 8am Saturday morning we were driving past Times Square! It was so amazing. We all pretty much decided to go on a whim. It all started b/c Deanna watched a movie set in NYC at Christmas time and threw out the idea that we should go. At first we decided it was a great idea but was just not possible. So Friday morning at work we all talked it over once more and decided to go for it. We definitely did not lolly-gag in our 24 hour experience. In our trip we managed to see Lower Manhattan...Times square..5th avenue...St. Patrick's cathedral...Rockefeller center...Radio city music hall...Staten island...Brooklyn bridge...Statue of liberty...Empire state building...WTC site...and an accidental train ride to Brooklyn, which was ok b/c we got to see the Brooklyn Bridge!! It was truly a great day and I spent many minutes on the phone with my sister telling her, "Oh my goodness, Brandi, you won't believe this, there is the............."
This trip to NY was more for the tourist aspect. Next time will be more for culture...Broadway musicals, museums, partying with celebrities, etc!!
I love living 6 hours from NYC, 2 hours from DC, 2 hours from the beach, and 2 hours from the mountains!! Now if we can just get some proper sweet tea, gumbo (and all the other fabulous Cajun dishes(crawfish included)), and Louisiana friends and family up here life will be perfect!

Well, after a two day ordeal I finally flew into Richmond, Virginia today. It was harder to get from Louisiana to Virginia than it was to get to Zambia! It was frustrating, but I rather enjoyed my stay in Atlanta courtesy of Delta Airways. I saw Stephanie and Tommy (both journeymen in Zambia) first thing and ate lunch with them. We had a good time talking and laughing about our time together in Zambia.
There are two other journeymen here at MLC doing my same job so today I went around with them and got acquainted. They seem to stay pretty busy. Tomorrow is when I will begin doing whatever it is that I will be doing. I think it is going to be weird living and working at MLC. Now I have power and responsibilities, I am not here just going through orientation. I even get to drive the golf cart around campus!
Tomorrow my friend from college arrives here for orientation andI am so excited to see her! That is definitely one perk of this job, I get to see some of my friends when they come through here.
Maybe one day when my life here settles down I can start posting pictures again. I just have not had a lot of time to take pictures since being back. Well, that's all for now....

This post is coming at you from the Franklin Parish library in Winnsboro, Louisiana! Yes, that is right, Winnsboro and not Ruston. Since being gone my parents moved to Winnsboro so now that is where yours truly will be residing for the next couple of weeks. I have been home almost a month now and it already feels like a lifetime ago that I was calling Zambia home. Since being back I have done some traveling in the Little Rock and Dallas area visiting family. I have also gotten to see a few friends along the way. I have been so busy I have not had a lot of time to even think. In fact, I have not even unpacked my 4 pieces of luggage that I brought home with me from Africa.
So the other big news besides me being back in the states is that I am moving to Virginia in 2 weeks. I will be extending my term as a journeyman and will be working at the place I went to for 6 weeks for orientation before I left the states. I am pretty excited about it. I will be there for at least 6 months and possibly up to a year. So if you are ever in the Richmond area, give me a call!

Ode to Kelley Grace and Jackson....

At the beginning of August I took a road trip to Malawi to visit the Boersma's, friends from home who are missionaries in Lilongwe. I have known them for several years and I was even Kelley Grace's first babysitter. I visited with them for 3 days and they showed me all the hot spots in Lilongwe. It was nice to see them again and talk about not only African living but life in Ruston as well. So, without further ado(Brandi and Amy), here are my pictures of Kelley Grace and Jackson.


They just love one another


Silly Kelley Grace



Jackson in the sandbox



Our supper of hamburgers and strawberries



Kelley Grace looking sweet



Jackson, with mustard on his face, showing me how long his tounge is




Their scary faces...in the words of their father, "They ain't right."



Jackson at riding lessons



Kelley Grace cantering


And this concludes my ode to the Boersma children.

I just recently got back from Zimbabwe. We went down there for our annual mission meeting. I wish I could say I had a blast but it was actually quite boring. All we did was sit in the most uncomfortable chairs imaginable for 8 hours a day listening to some really long-winded people talk about issues that did not or will not affect me. But no worries, I did pretend to be very interested in the issues at hand and even asked a question or two during one of our meetings.
This was my last time to see Victoria Falls (one of the 7 natural wonders of the world)...probably the last time in my life. I have seen Vic Falls about 4 or 5 times, I can't remember. And every time I see it, it is still an awesome sight. Too bad no one took advantage of my being here for these last two years...I could have driven you down to Livingstone to see it (and not to mention game drives and other fun african adventures!).
Tomorrow I am traveling to Malawi for the week. This is going to be a great time for sure! I am going to vistit some great friends from Ruston, La, who are missionaries there. Most people reading this will probably know who I am talking about...the Boersma's! I have known the Boersma's for 6 years. I started babysitting for them the summer after I graduated from high school. Kelley Grace, their oldest, was only 6 months old. The Boersma's have been back in Lilongwe since December. I have been trying for months to work out a trip to see them and it is finally happening, yippee!! I should return back to Lusaka on Saturday, August 7.
When I get back from Malawi, I will only have 17 more days till I fly home! WOW!
I will be spending that time packing up and moving out of my house and into the guesthouse at the mission. There is much to be done before leaving here on the 24th. I have a list a mile long of loose ends to take care of. How can it be that it is all almost over?? The time now is coming like a freight train!

And once again my gift of procrastination rears it's ugly head. I currently have about 6 must-do items on my to-do list for the day. Instead of getting busy and completing those tasks, here I am posting unimportant information for people to read. I got this email forward from Melissa Knobloch (known as "snobs" from here on out). It is about "knowing your friends." Why do I always feel compelled to fill these things out? I think I do one once a year. Instead of forwarding this on to others like the instructions say, I am just going to post it here for your reading pleasure. Love ya, Snobs!

 

1. What time do you get up? 
8:00am

2. If you could eat lunch with one famous person, who wouldit be?  
Julia Roberts, I think she and I could be really good friends. But if she is busy I'd opt for Nelson Mandela.
 
3. Gold or silver?
Silver

4. What was the last film you saw at the movies? 

SpiderMan 2

5. What is your favorite TV show? 
Alias...we get the show taped in the US and imported to us

6. What did you have for breakfast?  
toast and eggs

7. Who would you hate to be stuck in a room with?
I cannot say for fear that they could be reading this. 

 
8. What/who inspires you? 
Not to sound all super holy, but I'd say the book of Romans. 
 
9. What is your middle name? 
Brookes

10. Beach, City or Country?
 this fair skinned, red headed girl is gonna have to say the country, preferably the mountains
 
11. Favorite ice cream?
 new york stawberry cheesecake by the dreamery or ben and jerry's cherry garcia.....mmmmmm, i can have that again in 42 days!

12. Butter, plain or salted popcorn?
 butter
 
13. Favorite color? 
blue
 
14. What kind of car do you drive? 
thanks to Lottie Moon, I am currently driving a really nice dark green toyota corolla
 
15. Favorite sandwich? 
grilled cheese made with velveeta chesse
 
16. Favorite Sunday or daily comic strip? 
i like that blondie & of course the peanuts
 
17. What is in your CD player?
a mixed cd that a great friend gave me! she even titled the cd "bush boogie"

 18. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation,where would you go? 
New Zealand, but can i bring a friend?
 
19. What color is your bathroom?
  grey stone tile, both floor and walls

 
20. Favorite brand of clothing?
for the past two years it has been anything that volunteers leave here when they go back to the states.
 
 21. Where would you retire to?
somewhere in the south. I want to be the lady who sits in a rocking chair on a big wrap around porch, wearing big funny hats, who has lots of cats and gives cookies out to all the neighborhood children who plays in my yard.
 
 23. What did you do for last birthday? 
I taught a class, hung out with Paige, and the ladies here took me out to tea.
 
24. Where were you born? 
Vicksburg, Mississippi

25. Favorite sport to watch? 
american football, but i have come to find out that the other sport known as football has lots of very attractive players
 
26. What fabric detergent do you use?
Omo....doubt anyone has heard of it

27. Coke or Pepsi?
coke

28.  Are you a morning person or a night owl? 
night owl

29. What is your shoe size? 
anything from an 8 to a 9

30. Do you have any pets?
why yes I do and in 5 weeks they could be yours!! any takers?

Last night I had the mother of all sleepovers. Three lovely young ladies spent the night with me.  Me, Meredith Davis (8 yrs), Peyton Davis (5 yrs), and Rebekah Neely (8 yrs) played dress up and did all kinds of girly things to our hearts content. When the girls left my house today, their faces were stained pink from all the blush and lipstick they kept applying over the past 24 hours. During our girl fest we were also able to squeeze in a couple of movies, The Cat in the Hat, and The Lion King 1½.  Sorry I don’t have pictures for this. I was busy popping popcorn, applying eye shadow, and telling the girls to not squeal so loudly. This whole experience made me admire my parents even more!
 
On Monday we are headed down to Zimbabwe for our annual mission meeting. It is crazy how fast the time is flying! July is already more than half over. How in the world did that happen? While in Zimbabwe I will be attending meetings and struggling to stay awake during them. I will also try to muster up the courage to bungee jump. I never even gave it a second thought last year; there was no way I was going to do it. Although I think this year if someone twisted my arm hard enough I could be easily swayed.
 
I am currently working on a power point presentation about my two years in Zambia. I have yet to choose a song to play in the background, there are too many to choose from. Anyone have any suggestions? If so, please send all suggestions to ahoward@zamnet.zm.  My next dilemma with the power point is God has done more work IN me these past years than through me. How do you present that in a nice and tidy 4 minute presentation? Recently I have been looking through old pictures of mine. As I look at these pictures all I can think about is how different I am now….but praise God for the difference! What a shame it would be if I went home the same way I came. But just to ease your minds, I am indeed still as silly and laughy (is that a word?) and klutzy as ever. 

 *A side note-  My wonderful friends Tommy and Stephanie Knighten sent me a package, yippee!! And in the package was a huge plastic bag of Jelly Belly jelly beans. I mean, wow, how great! I really do enjoy Jelly Belly jelly beans. But let’s get serious for a minute….is there really anything more disgusting than the buttered popcorn flavored Jelly Belly?? In the immortal words of my dear friend Amy Wilson, “C’mon, get real!”