New Blog…No, old blog!

So after much debate (because I don’t like going back and forth on any issue, including my blog website), I’ve decided to switch back to my original blog on blogspot.  It is a lot easier to use, and is also SUPER CUTE now that I’ve discovered shabbyblogs.com, thanks to some great friends!  I’ve enjoyed my time with wordpress, but with the holidays coming up, I didn’t think I could take many more posts without video :) haha  So thanks to all of my loyal readers! Just switch your links (or click on the ones I post) back to annabaur.blogspot.com!!

 

Downtown

There is a special charm about downtown Charleston.  During the day, it is windy and bustling, but almost in an old-fashioned way.  And at night, it’s so charming and romantic, so fun and open.  It’s so great having such a lovely place nearby!

Tonight, Mikey and I headed downtown with some very good friends, Sarah and Billy, who will be tying the knot in 19 DAYS!! :) We are so happy for them and excited to have the chance to share in their big day!  Here are some pics to commemorate a wonderful evening with two awesome people:

 

Crying Out for Hope

I normally avoid politics and don’t get carried away by discussions on this or that policy. But I’ve been hearing a lot about health care, which is something I care very deeply about, and some of the things being said and supported are breaking my heart. Because health care isn’t about a system. It isn’t about government or private venues. It isn’t about slippery slopes or who will end up paying. Health care is about LIFE. It is truly that simple. People are dying. Dying or suffering unduly or losing their homes to fight diseases that are treatable, symptoms that are avoidable. And we are sitting here letting those people suffer, arguing about a system. About government. What about their lives? Have we become so blinded by ideologies and pointless principles that we will let someone die to prove our point? Is that who we have become as a nation? As a body of faithful people, even? Some have acknowledged the drastic need for helping those who have lost or cannot afford their health care, and many claim individuals should help them and I agree! But the sole help of individuals is the system we are working under now, and people are still dying unnecessarily. So many who see the need to give lose sight of that need when it comes time to give or become too involved in their own lives to actually give as they propose for others to do. I don’t have the money to help everyone needing health care, but I do have a voice. If that is all I can offer, I will give them that. I cannot give them life, but I want to be able to offer them a chance.

 

Too Busy to Blog

Especially for me, it has been a loooong time since my last post.  I have been SO busy since the start of school!  I’m taking fourteen hours at CofC and an EMT class through trident technical college.  My main time-consumer is my comparative anatomy class…it is insane.  We are working through the skeleton of all vertebrate animals.  I have a quiz on the skulls of fish, amphibians, and reptiles next week and then the midterm…aaah!  I’m really enjoying all that I’m getting to learn this semster, especially in comp anatomy and my EMT course, so that makes everything worth it.  But with all of the craziness, it’s been hard to take some time for myself…to hang out, to blog, and to just rest.  So this is a quick post, and I wanted to share some pictures from a Girls’ Night I had with some friends while Mikey and respective husbands went to a Braves game!

In the car on the way to dinner at Kickin’ Chicken:

The Goonie wives at dinner :)

 

Mikey’s 23rd Bday :)

So for Mikey’s 23rd birthday, which was almost a week ago (sorry it’s taken so long), we attempted a surprise lunch for him!  He had already planned on meeting Brian for sushi, but with a church leadership meeting that night, dinner was out.  So while Mikey slept in, blissfully ignorant of my conniving schemes, I talked to Brian and some other friends about meeting for lunch.  When Mikey woke up, I told him that I didn’t want him to have to plan on his bday, so Brian and I alerady coordinated to do lunch at 11:30.  The plan was for him to text me when everyone was gathered downstairs, and then I would tell Mikey that Brian was outside.  And when we went down to meet Brian, everyone would be there!  I thought it was a genius last-minute festivity!  However, when Brian arrived, we weren’t quite ready, so he came up to meet us…trying to act like he always would.  With Mikey right down the hall, he whispered to me who was here, and Mikey overheard him mentioning our good friends Oscar and Maria.  So as we walked down the stairs to the amazing “surprise,” he was asking if we were taking their van or what.  When everyone jumped out from behind a car screaming happy birthday’s and surprises, he was like, “hey guys! what’s up?”  He was still surprised a little bit, right?! :)

So we went on to this sushi place that Alexa’s cousin owns, and it was DELICIOUS!   We had such a great time laughing and hanging out with friends.  And they even brought Mikey ice cream and sang to him! :)  And then some kid in the restaurant was also having a birthday, so we all sang to him as well! :)  After lunch, Mikey and I just rested…he was pretty tired from surfing for a while the previous day on his birthday surf board :)  Overall, the day was wonderful!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN TO MY AMAZING HUSBAND!!

 

Academic Overhaul

Since my last blog, so much has happened! My life went from the restful haze of summer to the whirlwind of academia!  This past Monday, I presented my poster on the research I’ve been doing with lizards over last semester and this summer.  I was SO nervous going into it, feeling pretty prepared but not knowing exactly what to expect.  In some poster sessions, people walk up to you and ask you really difficult, unnecessary questions just to bloat their intellectual egos, but happily, such academic snobs were few and far between on Monday!  Everything went really well.  By the time the poster session was over, I had answered various reasonable and smart questions and presented my methods, results, and conclusions far more times than I would care to count.  It really helped to prep me for jumping back into research this semester, and also for starting my bachelor’s essay this semester on that research.

On Tuesday, classes began.  I am really enjoying my classes so far!  I am taking comparative vertebrate anatomy, which focuses on how different anatomic parts and systems develop through time, using the phylogeny of chordates.  There is a lot of information and tons of terminology, but I feel like I am at least starting to get a grasp on what we’ll be doing.  And it is actually really fun!  My other two classes seem interesting, and we’ll see how those progress as well.  As I said, i’m continuing work on my research.  I am also taking an EMT course, and my first class was this friday! I went into it a bit nervous, not knowing how continuing ed course are conducted at trident or what would be expected of me in this class, because I’d missed the first one for the trip to Atlanta.  But all went well! We started discussing the various systems of the human body, and it was AWESOME!!!  It was so much of what really interests me, and I am very much looking forward to the coming classes!

So that’s about it for me.  Sorry there aren’t any fun pictures or exciting tales for this blog.  Just a recap of a crazy change in my life.  It is so great to be busy and productive again!  :)  Now, I am off to celebrate Mikey’s 23rd birthday! Another post will soon follow, I am sure!

 

A Last Hoorah!!!

My last week of summer has been so much fun!  To start off, I went to Clemson to visit some of the most wonderful girls in the world.  They are some of my best friends, and we had a great time going to the pool, eating dinner at a cute Italian restaurant, and celebrating Aly’s birthday!!  The next day, classes started for them, but we got to meet for lunch before I headed back home on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Mikey and I drove up to Atlanta.  We kicked off our first solo vacation since our honeymoon with dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and some sight-seeing.  Friday was a busy day, packed with the Georgia Aquarium, the Coca-Cola Factory, and a Braves v. Marlins game!  At the aquarium, there were a bunch of touch tanks, some beluga whales and whale sharks, and tons of other aquatic wonders :)  The Coca-Cola Factory was, of course, amazing.  We really enjoyed getting to taste different Coke products from around the world.  Mikey even found Guarana, a soda he discovered on a mission trip to Brazil a few years ago.  My favorites were coke classic and Manzana, a delicious apple soda from Mexico, but I tried a bunch of crazy options, too!

The view from our room :)

At the Georgia Aquarium! (whale sharks are huge)

At the Coca-Cola Factory!! :)

Friday night, we walked from our hotel, which was right across the street from Turner Field, to the game.  We watched the Braves at batting practice; then, we met my parents for dinner at the Chop House, looking out over the field for the marlins’ batting practice.  Once the game started, we got to see the Braves score some runs, and we were even on the jumbotron!!  And then the rain hit.  There was a TWO AND A HALF HOUR rain delay, which we waited out.  During our wait, we had some of the best pizza known to man. When the game finally started back up, there were only about 100 fans left, so we all crowded around the braves dugout and cheered on our beloved team!!  Tim Hudson looked straight at Mikey and asked in amazement, “what are you still doing here?!”  And Terry Pendleton threw a ball right to Mikey, without him having to even ask for it.  It was a great night.  Saturday, we slept in then packed up and headed out.  The trip was so much fun, and Mikey is already dreaming of our next trip to see the Braves :)

Meeting Mom and Dad for dinner :)

Excited about being on the jumbotron! …then sad about the rain delay

By the Dugout when the game started back up!!!

Mikey with the ball from Terry Pendleton :)

 

The God Monkey

We are all God monkeys.  You know the type…they perform in the streets, seeking approval from whoever happens to cross their path.  That’s us.  Performers.  Approval-seekers.  God monkeys.  I’m not judging…I do it too.  I have my whole life.  When I went to sunday school, I would raise my hand and only feel good about my answer if the teacher smiled and said I was right. Growing up, I started to tell stories and bring up things that are churchy enough for my churchy friends in my churchy environment.  All the while, I performed.  My heart wanted to please God, but it also wanted, and still naturally wants, to please the people around me.   I started performing for those people.  I can say the right things, do the right things, participate in outreach and worship and all sorts of activities, all the while having a heart focused on looking like a good Christian.  It isn’t that our hearts aren’t in this; they are just distracted.  Then the performance moves beyond pleasing people, and we start to perform for God.  See, God, how I read my Bible today? Did you notice that I mentioned you to a confused friend?  Did you see how I went to church even though I really wanted to sleep in, God? See, God, I’m alright. We lose sight of God’s heart and, instead, try to follow His rules.

This is so contrary to the teachings of Jesus!  God knocked my socks of this week by letting the proverbial scales fall from my eyes.  Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of real life, of seeking God and His heart, and of Him working in me to make me good, to make me loving and righteous and pure.  In Philippians 2:13. Paul says, “for it is GOD who works in you to will and to act according to His purposes.”  Again in 1 Corinthians 12:6, we are told that “there are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.” The years of muscling through sin, gritting my teeth and trying to force myself to love or to be gentle or gracious seemed so silly.  Really? It’s God’s work?  I can’t make myself righteous?

The fruits of the Spirit are renowned as qualities produced in us by God’s Spirit, but still I tried to produce them in myself. And, always, I would fail.  I might love for a bit, but when it got really difficult, my own efforts were too paltry for God’s purposes.  I am realizing that God doesn’t want a monkey to perform; He wants a child to love, to spend time with, to teach and to help grow.  Being a Christian is about spending time with Him.  Listening to His word, learning about His life, talking to Him in prayer, surrendering to Him every moment.  If I am loving God and seeking His heart, His life and purity and love will be reflected onto me, shining out of me.  My life is not about pleasing you, reader, or the people that go to my church.  I don’t want to be churchy enough for you.  I just want to be crazy about my God!

[May God] equip you with everyting good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.  Amen.

Hebrews 13:21

 

A Good Read

Less than a minute ago, I finished a pretty amazing book.  I hopped on my computer and started typing as soon as I finished reading the last page of The Shack by Wm. Paul Young.  Perhaps it is not the book that is so wonderful; I’m normally not into Christian works of fiction, anyway.  Rather, it is the questions the book raises and the perception of God it portrays that are incredible.  The writer depicts a man’s encounter with the Trinity, with God Himself, and how God uses a growing relationship to heal the man, to bring Him into full life.  I highly recommend that you read this book.  Although you, like I, may not agree with every idea put forth, I think it is a beautiful illustration of the power of true love, forgiveness, and service.  It definitely challenged some of my preconceptions about God and some of my personal thoughts and responses to life and those in it.  Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

Evil is a word we use to describe the absence of good, just as we use the word darkness to describe the absence of light or death to describe the absence of life…I am light and I am good.  I am love and there is no darkness in Me.  Light and Good actually exist. So, removing yourself from Me will plunge you into darkness.

For something to move from death to life, you must introduce something living and moving into the mix.  To move from something that is only a noun to something dynamic and unpredictable, to something living and present tense, is to move from Law to grace.

This is not a revolution that will overthrow anything, or if it does, it will do so in ways we could never contrive in advance.  Instead, it will be the quiet daily powers of dying and serving and loving and laughing, of simple tenderness and unseen kindness…

 

A Fun Weekend!

This weekend has been crazy!  Thursday (which I am including) was my friend Baillie’s bachelorette party (2nd wedding of the season).  We hung out and played some games at her soon-to-be home.  Then, we headed downtown for dinner at Coast, a crazy scavenger hunt, and dancing at the Purple Tree.  It was very fun, and I was so happy to get to ring in her wedding weekend with her.

Then, on Friday, Mikey and I met up with our friends Oscar and Maria to head to Atlanta for the Braves/Dodgers game.  Oscar and Maria are big dodgers fans from their time living in L.A.  It was so fun riding up together.  We got there early to run the bases of the old Braves field, watch batting practice, buy Mikey an early bday present at the gift shop, and get some food.  Then we settled in for the game.  Sadly, the Braves lost, but we had an awesome time anyway! Then, around 11 pm, we left ATL and drove all the way back to Charleston. Mikey and I finally got home at almost 4 am, where we quickly fell asleep to be well rested for Mike and Baillie’s wedding on Saturday!

We woke up late yesterday morning, and after a bit of chill time, we got ready for the wedding!  It was absolutely beautiful, of course.  Baillie loves zebra print, so the bridesmaids had zebra shoes while the groomsmen wore zebra ties.  After the happy couple tied the knot, we headed to the reception at a nearby Holiday Inn, where there was a, you guessed it, zebra-print cake!  The food was delicious, the toasts were very sweet and heartfelt, and the dancing was so fun! Mikey and I had a great time, and I even got him out on the dance floor once :)