Strawberry Jar!

When I went to get my herbs at Lowes, I asked Kevin the Live Nursery Specialist about growing strawberries. He recommended a "strawberry jar" which is a pot with holes in it. He said you put a strawberry shoot in each hole and then when they start to grow, they cover up the jar and it looks like a big ball of strawberries.

Well, the jar was $17.88 (plus the money for the strawberry shoots) and I was trying to focus on my herbs, so I bypassed the jar that day (with tears in my eyes no less).

Here's where the gardening miracle occurs....

On our trip to Brandon for the wedding and grandparents visit, I mentioned my new gardening interest to Nana and told her about the strawberry jar. This is what happens next (following Heather's style, I will narrate):

Nana: "Well I think I have one of those planters with holes in it! LEWIS! GO TO THE PORCH AND GET THAT PLANTER WITH THE HOLES IN IT!"
Tricia: "Oh it's okay, Nana- I don't want to take yours- I can get one of my own, it's okay."
Nana (turning to me): "I've had that planter with the holes in it for several years. Nothing's in it now. A snake coiled up in it once."
Tricia: "oh. ew."
Lewie (dragging heavy, soiled planter with holes in it into the house): "Is this it, Barb?"
Nana: "Yes, Lewis, are you going to put some plastic around it for their car so dirt doesn't go all over their car?"
Tricia: "There's no snake coiled up in it is there?"

And Scene.


The rest of the story is that Caleb took me to Lowes last night to get the strawberry shoots, so now we have the makings of a wonderful strawberry jar! They harvest in June, so we should have millions of strawberries then!

BLOG....NOW!!!!

Raise your hand if you want to force Laurette into starting a blog!!!!

LAURETTE- START ONE!!!!

How are we supposed to keep up with the Wolfe Pack?

Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. William Miller Dahlem and Happy Late Birthday Party

This weekend took the Butts to Jackson, MS for Will Dahlem and Jennifer O'Brien's wedding celebration. We got to visit with all of Caleb's friends who we don't get to see often, plus the spring wedding was gorgeous. I looked lovely in my artsy-fartsy glasses for the final day of Conjunctivitis Watch 2007:

During our stay in Brandon with my granparents, Nana and Lewie, I learned how to sew on a sewing machine. I made a bag for holding good silver (like silver platters, etc. - "it's the best thing to make when you first learn to sew"- Nana) and then I made a skirt out of a pattern. It is bright orange, linen, and might fit a Barbie doll. You will not see me sporting it around town.

Next on the agenda was Molly's late birthday party at our apartment. We made a birthday castle cake, complete with "Molly Flags."

CROOM SIGHTING

Sylvester Croom, Head Football Coach

I play this little game in my head where I try to Spot Croom on campus. I give myself one point if he's doing something job related and two points if I see him in everyday life situations, such as the grocery store. So far I have 3 points. I'm not competing against anyone, but it occupies my mind. (Rule: spotting Croom inside the football stadium doesn't count.... obviously we will spot him there)

Yesterday, I earned a point for spotting Croom in a golf cart driving around campus. Of course, I shouted "WHOOOOOOO!!!!!! GO DAWGS!!!!!" through my rolled down car window (like a true redneck). Croom is Starkville's biggest celebrity and I have now spotted him in a golf cart and one time at a stoplight.

If you would like to play Croom Spotting in your own town, you can! It's easy! Croom is busy visiting recruits, so it's very possible that you might pass him driving down the road. Keep an eye out! He is everywhere and not always wearing Maroon (even though that's the only color that matters):

Croom Tailgating:

Croom Contemplating:

Croom Camoflauged (3 points):

Croom Celebrating:

Red Eye Got You Down?

It's True.

I have Conjunctivitis.

I'm staffing Roadrunner calling tonight, so just in case all my adoring Roadrunners try to give me a hug or something, we put this sign up. I have been "highly contagious" all day, but I've been taking my eye drops like a good little soldier.

Don't hate me because I'm beautiful.

But seriously! Look how scary my eye looks!

Are you going to Scarborough Fair.... Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme

Anybody remember that song? Anyway, since there is no chance of me nurturing my very own PJ Joey any time soon, I'm going to care for a small herb garden. I've been thinking about it for a while, but didn't know where to start.

A Horticulture major advised me to start with shoots rather than growing them from seeds. I set out this morning to Lowes where I encountered Kevin, whose nametag read: "Live Nursury Specialist." Kevin quickly took me under his wing (he was very enthusiastic about plants) and taught me a lot about not just growing herbs but also about the ph balance of soil (I just nodded my head a lot) as well as the best way to grow strawberries.

I left Lowes with a planter, plant feed (these little berry things you have to sprinkle on the soil- Kevin said it was necessary), two types of soil (gardening soil and top soil.... again, my herbs must maintain a suitable ph balance) and four different types of herbs:

(From left to right)

Parsley, Basil, Rosemary and Cilantro

So then I had to go to Wal-Mart to get Caleb a new contact lens case and so of course I perused the aisles of the garden section. I bought a hanging basket with flowers in it for the "front porch" and another planter for vegetables. So now, along with the herbs, I am tending to yellow onions, scallions (green onions) and garlic. I have plenty of extra bulbs of all three varieties if any of my 5 readers would like to have them.

I am practically a Farmer.

Butts Rear-Ended! (pun absoutely intended)

If you ever wake up on a Sunday morning and say, "hey.... let's skip Sunday School this morning and just go to Big Church," then pay close attention to what I am about to say:

You and those you love could get into a small fender-bender.

It happened to us.

It could happen to you.

CRIME SCENE: in front of apartment 150 D Park Circle

DETAILS: Just as Caleb Butts began to back out of our parking space into the street, Talbert Johnson begins to back out of his parking space in front of his apartment. Tricia is putting on make-up.

BUMP.

No injuries reported. We still went to church for the last 15 minutes.

Adding "Earthquake" to list of weather we've experienced.

A few other tidbits of our week:

1. In the five days we were in Cleveland, a tornado touched down, there was a small earthquake, Tuesday's high was in the 70's and on Friday, there was tons of snow!

2. The Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame is located in "Sunny Cleveland."

3. We had a bit of a time getting back home... We tried to fly out of Cleveland (got there at 8:00 in the AM with the rest of the crew for our flights at 10:00. They got on going to Chicago. We didn't make ours to ATL) As it often happens with us Buddy-Pass Flyers, there isn't enough room in the inn, so we were just going to sit there and try for the next flight. A friendly Delta employee told us at 11:00 that a plane in sitting on the runway in NYC was messing up every single flight to ATL and that we had no chance of flying out that day. SO- we took a $50 shuttle to another airport an hour and a half from Clevelan. "Sunny Akron/Canton." We then didn't make any flights until 5:30 when we gave up and decided to try our luck in Cincinatti.

We flew out of Cincinnati at 8:45 PM and arrive in Sunny Huntsville at about 9:45 PM. What a long day!

Prayer Walking and Surveying

Our Field Work was on the Discovery Phase for a new church plant called Church of the Hills which will launch in 2008 in Macedonia, OH which is about 30 minutes outside of Cleveland. We helped the churchplanter out by prayer walking through neighborhoods and then surveying those people the rest of the week. We were in 5 groups of 4 and I was in an awesome group!

Here's Josh, Lesley, Me and Melissa:Caleb's group was A-Team as well, with Patrick to the left, Caleb in the middle, Taylor on the right, and Michael Ball was on their team, but he was driving so he didn't turn around and smile.

One of the houses Caleb and Taylor stopped at to survey on the last day was an older lady who seemed pretty sick. They talked to her for a while, then finished the survey and walked away. They both agreed something just didn't seem right and they both had gotten the feeling that maybe the lady didn't have enough food to eat. They talked to Michael about it and they decided they'd go back to check on her, and sure enough, she didn't have any food at all in her house. The guys ended up filling up her pantry with food and sharing the gospel with her. She is going through a rough time right now with major financial problems and illness, plus her husband had left her a couple years ago. The local church planter has already met with her and he's going to make sure she's doing all right!

That is just one of many ways God blessed our trip! We were able to meet a lot of interesting people, and the experience has opened both of our eyes not just to the needs of people in Cleveland, but to the needs of people in our own community.

Getting There is Half the Fun!

So we're back from the first ever Collegiate PowerPlant Project! Caleb and I both had a great time and it was a really rewarding way to spend our Spring Break 2007. We especially enjoyed getting to know everyone else in our Big Group (20 of us in all- it was such a fun crew!)

The Adventure began last Saturday as we flew to "Sunny Cleveland" (they had shirts for sale with that written on it. It was much more "snowy" than it was "sunny"). We got to the Cleveland Airport 4 hours before the rest of the group. Caleb spent much of that time in Brookstone in this chair:

The next morning, when we were getting ready for church, I somehow got stuck in the hotel bathroom. Neither one of us locked the bathroom door, but alas, the door would not open. I was stuck in there after my shower and couldn't get out, so Caleb called Maintenance. Dean, the Maintenance Man, tried first tried jiggling the door handle, then he even got a huge drill and tried to drill off the door handle. Nothing worked. 45 minutes later and clever use of a really big hammer freed me from the confines of the Holiday Inn Select bathroom. Luckily, I had my PJ's in the bathroom and could put those back on so that Dean didn't have to see me in a towel wrap when the door came tumbling down. Here's a quick shot of Dean, my Holiday Inn Hero:

To help with the trauma of being trapped in the bathroom, the hotel gave us two complimentary tickets to the Breakfast Buffet. Caleb ordered steak and eggs. I ordered Lucky Charms and she brought me Fruit Loops.

PowerPlant or Bust!

Caleb and I fly out tomorrow from Huntsville, AL to Cleveland, OH for our PowerPlant Project! The weather is going to be unseasonably warm (yippee!!) with highs in the 50's- I'm just glad there won't be snow. Here is the link to the 10-Day weather forecast:
http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/tenday/USOH0195?from=dayDetails_topnav_business

I won't be posting for a solid week, but.... NO FEARS! Once we are back, you'll get all the details! Until then, whenever you feel the urge to check out the blog, say a little prayer for the project instead! God is going to do big things and we are so excited about it!

Update on Research Consultant

For those who were wondering, Gail the Librarian was a tremendous help. She showed me so many sneaky tricks to manuevering around Indexes/Databases. Gail totally opened my eyes to the Wonderful World of the Library and I salute all of you Library Scientists out there. I applaud your knowledge of the Card Catalog and how you conduct your affairs in such quiet glory.

New Look?

What do we think about the new style? Comments? Feedback? I'll adjust colors and stuff later.

Personal Librarian

In just under an hour, I will be meeting with Gail, my very own Research Consultant, provided to me courtesy of the Mitchell Memoriam Library here at Mississippi State. I gave her my thesis topic, and she is going to help me look stuff up about it!

SO- why didn't we know about this in Undergraduate? I would have gotten a Consultant for every single paper ever assigned.

Why is this necessary/helpful? Because according to my English Professor this semester for Form and Theory of Poetry, merely "googling" your topic is "such a Freshman thing to do." (He said this to me in class in front of everyone. I told him I wasn't coming up with a lot of sources for my 20 page poem explication and he asked me how I was searching. I looked at him with a very confused face and said, "I'm just googling it."Apparently that is uncouth.)

I will let you know how it goes with Gail. I tried to put a picture of her on here, but the staff directory only has her job title. Sorry.

No Pictures Yet! SAD!

I have much to report, yet no pictures to supplement the post, so I'm holding off. Caleb is responsible for somehow getting the pictures off his camera and to me so that I can blog my little heart out, so any comments of frustration can be directed to him.

As a teaser, here are the two things you will get to read about as soon as I have the pics:

1. Prom Dresses with the most beautiful high-fashion model in the world: Molly Rebecca Hopper. Tyra has apparently been calling the house night and day begging her to be on Season Six of ANTM, but Molly has politely declined. She has a life, you know.

2. 25th Anniversary Extravaganza with The Hoppers. As of March 6, Dr. and Mrs. Richard Hopper have been married for a quarter of a century!!! The kids (me, Caleb, McRae and Molly) put together a book containing congratulatory cards from all their family and friends! Much Fun!

So the pics should be coming up soon! Get excited!

Antiquing, Aberdeen and the Bulldogs Won!

The Butts had an action-packed weekend that is best told in outline-form:

Friday:

I. Antiquing

We kicked off the fun with an exciting "Antiques Roadshow" that took us to Ackerman, MS Friday afternoon.

A. Starkville-We started at Boardtown Trading in Starkville (mostly junk)and wanted to walk through Southern Heritage Market, but it was closed (gasp!)

B. Longview-There is only one Antiques store in Longview and it is in someone's trailer, so we didn't stop.

C. Sturgis-The stores in Sturgis no longer have antiques- they now have "Biker" style wares that they peddle during the highly anticipated Little Sturgis. I don't know how much business they really get the other 362 days of the year.

D. Ackerman-Ackerman also has no Antique stores, but they do have a really awesome Tobacco/Rifle/Ammo/Candle shop which we DID go in (and Caleb used their bathroom- gross!)

II. Improv Night-Caleb's best friend Will Brantley was in town, so we went with him and his girlfriend to "Primetime Live" starring the Labrats which is a comedy troupe of Theatre students at Mississippi State

A. Shout-outs-Part of improvising is acting out whatever the crowd suggests. When the Lead Improv Guy asked "What do the aliens do when they invade our planet?" Caleb yelled out, "EAT SANDWHICH MEAT!" So the improv-ers had to pretend to be aliens eating sandwhich meat. WEIRD.

B. Overly-Enthusiastic Girl Improv-er-Every time this one girl ran in for a new sketch, she would SPRINT in (even though it was about 12 feet) while doing a Banshi war cry. WEIRD.

C. Lengthy-It started at 10:00 pm, which was kind of cool because we felt really artsy-fartsy (phrase coined by Caleb). We didn't get home until 1 in the morning- and we didn't even talk philosophy at a local coffee shop afterward, which is what most theatre people do, right?

Saturday:

III. Bridal ShowerFor Ginny Haynes-Very Fun and she is going to be a beautiful bride!!!!

IV. Aberdeen Time!-Laurette invited us to eat with her family in Aberdeen so that we could catch up!

A. Appetizer-Awesome. Bread. Had marinara, cheese and capers on it. De-lish.

B. Dinner-Salad, Chicken Parmesan, and Spaghetti with meatballs. Heaven.

C. Dessert-Teramasu. Didn't spell it right, but it was excellent.

D. It was also great getting to visit with Laurette, by the way:) And many thanks to Chef Clark!

V. Bill Cooke You Rock!-Bill Cooke, a.k.a Wedding Singer for the Butts, Wolfes and Skaggs played at Old Venice.

Sunday:

VI. Church

A. Young Ladies Sunday School for me, 4th graders for Caleb

B. Big Church

VII. Measurement and Evaluation Homework (Hell)-I hate this class more than any class I've ever taken in my life. It involves lots of Math, and usually I cry a lot and have been known to throw my book at the wall (in the MSU Library... it was awkward... just kidding)

VIII. NCATE-The College of Education is undergoing Accredidation right now, so one of my teachers asked me to stand by a booth and talk to them about one of our projects. It was like Science Fair, only I didn't have to do the Board, my teacher did.

That is all. Now I'm at work.

Free Hugs!

Hugs for everyone!

Graduate School Wuzzles

Who said getting your Masters is tough? In my Reading Strategies class last night, we did Word Puzzles a.k.a. "Wuzzles" Here is an example of a rather easy Wuzzle to tease your brain today. Personally, they make me crazy.

Knowledge = Safety

To keep track of the looming storm, go to: http://www.weather.com/weather/map/USMS0367?name=index_large_animated&day=1&from=36hr_tornWatch_golf
for an updated weather loop.

Helmet Please

According to ABC 33/40 Meteorologist James Spann, "High Risk" weather will be sweeping through the South sometime this afternoon.

A little background on High Risk weather.... according to Spann, there have only been 10 High Risk weather days in the South for the past 18 years, all resulting in numerous fatalities.

But fear not, Spann says, because we do not live by fear, rather we rely on the information at hand and make smart decisions. He also advised everyone in the viewing area to wear a helmet.

The majority of fatalities during tornadic activity is due to trauma to the head from shrapnel and other debris. To avoid this, a helmet is the obvious way to go.

Unfortunately, I did not bring a helmet to work today.

Fortunately, Jon David Cole keeps the helmet he wore at the groundbreaking of The Junction in his office and he said I could wear it today if things get "windy." Here's a picture of Jon David, Generous Helmet Provider. I also work with Anna (pictured left) but she has no helmet to offer.