Yes, it is true.

I've gotten a million messages and phone calls. First of all, everybody wants to know, "Is it true???" I blame this question on Jon and Aileen for tricking everyone by changing their facebook status a while back just to see what would happen. Yes. It is true. Joe and I have decided to break up. I've been feeling that we were growing apart for some time now. I've tried to make it work. I do love him, but we are just not compatible anymore. I'm not going into any gory details because I don't think it's appropriate. I just want everyone to know that I am okay and Joe is going to be okay as well. We are both resilient people. Thank you for all your messages, calls, and the like, but I don't really feel like talking about it right now. I'm just trying to move forward.

It Could Be Worse...

A Mother passing by her son's bedroom was astonished to see that his bed was nicely made and everything was picked up. Then she saw an envelope, propped up prominently on the pillow that was addressed to Mom. With the worst premonition she opened the envelope with trembling hands and read the letter:

Dear Mom,

It is with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you. I had to elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with Dad and you. I have been finding real passion with Stacy and she is so nice. But I knew you would not approve of her because of all her piercing, tattoos, tight motorcycle clothes, and the fact that she is much older than I am. But it's not only the passion... Mom, she's pregnant.

Stacy said that we will be very happy. She owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter. We share a dream of having many more children. Stacy has opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn't really hurt anyone. We'll be growing it for ourselves and trading it with the other people that live nearby for cocaine and ecstasy. In the meantime we will pray that science will find a cure for AIDS so Stacy can get better. She deserves it.

Don't worry Mom. I'm 15 and I know how to take care of myself. Someday I'm sure that we will be back to visit so that you can get to know your grandchildren.

Love,

Your Son John

P.S. Mom, none of the above is true. I'm over at Tommy's house. I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than the report card that's in my center desk drawer. I love you. Call me when it's safe to come home.

Tennessee

I spent my weekend in Clarksville, Tennesee. Richard, a friend of mine, was graduating from Austin Peay University. So, I went with Philip, Roger, and Erin on the 8 hour trip. We had an awesome time.

We had an indoor pool that Philip and I spent more time in than we did the beds. You probably think I'm kidding, but I'm pretty sure that more hours were spent swimming than sleeping on this trip. :) Philip and I had a competition to see how many times we could dunk each other. I lost. Of course. However, I did manage to dunk Philip 4 times. I was pretty happy with that. Even though he dunked me like a hundred and forty seven times. Maybe it wasn't that many, but it sure felt like it. And, since I bruise easily, I have bruises all over my arms and legs. My arms didn't bruise too badly. My wrists only have faint bruises. I do have a few big, ugly, purplish bruises above my elbows, but you can't see them when my arms are down at my sides. My legs are another story. They are bruised all over. Luckily, none of the bruises actually hurt. :)

We also went bowling twice. I didn't bowl that great, but it wasn't completely awful either. I even beat Richard once (he's a far better bowler than I am... don't let that fool you though. I didn't bowl well; he just bowled awful).

We went to the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. It was really interesting. I think we spent about 3 hours there. It didn't feel like it.

It was a fantastic trip and I am sad to be back at work today. Oh well. Less than 2 weeks and I'm off to Indiana for a long weekend.

New Goal #1

I made a few new goals for myself recently. The first one is to read at least 100 books this year. This is how far I've gotten so far:

1. The Host -- Stephenie Meyer
2. Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust -- Immaculee Ilibagiza
3. Coraline -- Neil Gaiman
4. American Gods -- Neil Gaiman
5. One For The Money -- Janet Evanovich
6. Two For The Dough -- Janet Evanovich
7. Three To Get Deadly -- Janet Evanovich
8. Four To Score -- Janet Evanovich
9. High Five -- Janet Evanovich
10. Hot Six -- Janet Evanovich
11. Seven Up -- Janet Evanovich
12. Hard Eight -- Janet Evanovich
13. Visions of Sugar Plums -- Janet Evanovich
14. To The Nines -- Janet Evanovich
15. Ten Big Ones -- Janet Evanovich
16. Eleven On Top -- Janet Evanovich
17. Twelve Sharp -- Janet Evanovich
18. Plum Lovin' -- Janet Evanovich
19. Lean Mean Thirteen -- Janet Evanovich
20. Plum Lucky -- Janet Evanovich
21. Fearless Fourteen -- Janet Evanovich
22. Plum Spooky -- Janet Evanovich
23. Death On The Nile -- Agatha Christie

I think that's all I've got so far. However, I was in a slump at the beginning of the year. 19 of those are from the past month. I'm on a roll now. :) However, I still have to read more than 2 books per week for the rest of the year. It's going to be tricky.

I'm starting the Harry Potter series today, so if it's as interesting as everyone says, I should catch up pretty quickly. Then, after I finish that series, I plan to read some classics that I never got to before. And that will probably slow me down a bit. :S I'll probably throw in some more Agatha Christie, and Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich comes out in June. I also found a new book by Bart D. Ehrman called, Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don't Know About Them). Sounds really cool, right? Plus, Ehrman is amazing! Also, I'm going to read some books that I never got around to about Process Theology. Also, some new Feminist Theology books have come out. I'll be a mighty busy lady. But that's A OK! :) If you have any other suggestions for what I should read, let me know. I'm trying to read a little bit of everything, so whatever you've got in mind, tell me!

I don't really feel like going into my other new goal just yet. I'll blog about it later. I'll give you a hint though... It's nothing you'd expect from me. ;)