End of the Expe

On Monday afternoon Aaron's car decided that it could go no further. For over ten years the poor Expedition tirelessly drove nearly 200,000 miles. The past two years that sweet ol' hunk a love groaned and lurched everywhere it went, but it never failed to get us to our destination. But on Monday it decided that enough was enough.

We've known that the Expe was on its last legs for a long time now, but we kept hoping that it would make it to September. Now that I think about it, I have no idea why we chose September...it just sounded like a good month for Aaron to find a new car. But, alas July will be new car month for the Johnson family. Now some of you may be thinking, "Wait, didn't Rachael just get a new car back in January?" And the answer is yes...I did. We are leasing my sweet little Acura and its wonderful.

For the last 4 days Aaron and I have been sharing her and it hasn't been working out too well. See our house is way out in the boonies on one end of Waco, our church is out in the boonies on the other end, and my work is in a random church sorta near Hillcrest Hospital. For Aaron to drop me off at work and then head out to church it takes him nearly an hour. And with Chris having baseball practice every night things have been way to hectic. So my crazy husband is about to get a new (used) car. And what does he want......

Yeah baby - A 2003 Cadillac CTS. Now I'm still not a huge fan of these cars. I'd really like for my man to drive a truck, but Aaron is dead set on his CTS. He's been driving all over Waco, scouring the Internet, and checking out car magazines like crazy. He's found a couple within our price range with low miles, so come Monday we might be proud owners of a new caddy!

Rollin wit tha homies...REJ

Vienna Teng

Yeah... check her out. Its all quite phenomenal!

http://viennateng.com/listen/

I was listening to my daily dose of Yahoo Music and all the sudden a whimsical little fairy voice filled my computer speakers. I immidiately googled her and now I'm obessed. She's coming to Austin in February, so now all I've gotta do is convince Aaron that we have to go hear her.

MELTING

Ughhhhhh Its So Hot!



The air conditioner in my office broke yesterday afternoon. I currently have two oscillating fans blowing on me, but even they can't compete with the 100 degree temperature. I can't believe my boss is makeing us stay here...maybe he'll let us go home after lunch (I've got my fingers crossed). I'm tempted to claim that I'm having some sort of medical emergency, so that I can go relax in the cool AC of my wonderous little house.

I just found out that we get to go home at 2:00!!!!! Hooray!!!



In other news...I've only got 6 more days of full time work at my job. Then I move to working only 3 days a week for 3 hours a day - YES!!!! Who's excited about lots of time to lay by the pool, workout, and veg on the couch...I am!



We went to dinner last night at Logans Roadhouse with our best Waco friends, Chris and Robin Richardson. They just got back from Denver and it was so fun listening to the stories from their roadtrip.



Well its time for my lunch, so I'm going to go to Barnes and Noble to escape the unbearable heat. We are heading to Rockwall after Chris' baseball practice tonight, so hopefully I'll have tons of great boating pics when I get back on Monday.



Peace,

Rach E. J.

One quirky thing about me is that throughout high school and college I would date the most random people...and I mean WAY random. Here are a four that might make you smile:

Braids - Yes, this is what we called him on my Senior Trip to Cancun. I saw him from the top deck of the booze cruise (don't worry, I didn't drink a drop). He was waiting to get on the boat and he had these glorious braids with little beads at the end...you know the kind that little girls get in their hair when they go on vacation. He and I hung out non-stop that week and he even came to visit me one weekend in Rockwall. My parents were not impressed and I decided that he was not my type when he convinced me and my best friend Amelia to skip the amazing 4th of July Christian Concert and go to some screamo heavy metal one instead.

RESNET - My senior year of high school some girlfriends and I roadtripped up to Baylor for a Dixie Chicks concert. We stayed with one of my friend's brothers who was a senior Phi Chi. We had a blast at the concert, but the most memorable part of the trip was when us 4 crazy senior girls wore our cutest outfits (I wore red pleather pants and a belly shirt - yikes) and headed over to the Phi Chi house on 9th street. We somehow ended up "modeling" on top of the fireplace. The Phi Chi guys probably laughed at us after we left, but for that one night we thought we were so cool. I ended up meeting a sweetie Phi Chi that came to Rockwall for Valentines Day. We didn't date seriously or anything...but when I got to Baylor I remember being a little embarrassed because he was the Collins Resnet guy and that is not the best title to have at good ol' BU.

Rock Climber - My freshman year at Baylor I was really into rock climbing. After track practice, I'd head over to the rock and hang out there for hours. I ended up meeting lots of people, but one stood out from the rest. He rarely wore shoes, almost never showered, and had the frizziest curly hair I've ever seen, but he was really nice and a great rock climber. He and I didn't have much in common, but hey...I was a freshman.

The Nose Brother - Yep...I dated a Nose Brother and I think thats pretty dang cool. Even though Nose Brothers are just regular guys, they do have a zany mystique that I've always found so captivating. My first date with this Nose Brother was to an actual Nose Brother Party. They were all in their masks and I had no idea who my date actually was...he'd just called me up and asked me to meet him at the party - so I did. I asked him tons of questions throughout the night trying to get my date to reveal himself, but nothing worked. Christmas break rolled around and I still had no idea who "my" Nose Bro was. Finally, right at the end of the break, I realized who my date had been. I came back to Baylor triumphant and became really good friends with this guy. He ended up graduating later that year (He was a senior and I was a freshman). We did end up dating later on when I was a junior in college and even though our relationship didn't last...our friendship did and thats what counts!

PS...Camille, I've always felt like Adam was a Nose Brother. Am I right?

LYLAS,
Rachael

Hey guess what?

CHRIS MADE THE ALL-STAR BASEBALL TEAM!!!

I love the word "All-Star" because it brings up two great memories...

Were Converse All-Stars cool when ya'll were in 6th grade? Cause at Utley Middle School they were the bomb.com. The second picture is the CD cover for the band "Smash Mouth." You remember the song...

Hey Now

You're an all-star

Get your game on

Go play....

Just Another Monday

Here's a couple things about me that I feel like sharing...

1. I really like to drink my soda pop out of 32 oz Styrofoam cups. I know this is terrible for the environment, but it just tastes so good. I'm a big fan of Diet Coke with a splash of regular Coke on top.

2. I have a new favorite gas station - Valero (they're all over Waco these days)

3. I hate hate hate Coldplay and Radiohead. Ok, I actually like a couple Coldplay songs, but I don't get everyone's fascination with these bands. I'll take some old school OAR, Dave Matthews, or Matchbox 20 any day thank you very much!

4. I hate fractions, decimals, and subtracting - yep, pretty much all math. But I do really like multiplying and geometry. Weird huh?

5. I just started reading two new books and I really like them both so far: "The Last Summer (of you and me)" and "Three Cups of Tea."

6. We found a puppy the other day when we were exploring a creek by our house. He's a gold pitbull mix and he's so sweet. He's probably about a year old and gets along great with all our animals...even our fiesty cat Potter. We've named him River and he needs a home, so let me know if you want him.

7. Chris and I got in an argument last night and I was super rude to him...yeah, how uncool of me. But thankfully I have a wonderful husband that talked me through my anger and after some prayer I was able to apologize to my son. And good ol' Chris...he forgave me and even gave me a hug. Just another reason why I love this verse,

"He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces finds mercy."
Proverbs 28:13

8. We had a Father's Day Extravaganza at our house yesterday. After church we went to Pei Wei because its one of Aaron's favorite restaurants, then we went to Circuit City and bought a video camera, then we went bowling for a couple hours, then we went and saw The HULK. Yep, it was a pretty good 1st Father's Day.

9. We are hopefully heading to Rockwall this coming weekend to hangout with my family. I'm super excited and I can't wait to teach Chris to waterski!!!!

10. TFL went to the pool in West on Saturday...it was pretty cool, but maybe not worth $25 bucks in admission. It did have some cool stuff like a high dive, low dive, slide, and a zip line that set it apart from other pools around Waco. We probably won't be regulars there, but it was fun just for something new to do.

love love love love love love love love love love love love loved it

I saw the movie on Tuesday night with Robin and Natalie and I have been obsessed with it ever since. See, I never saw an episode while it was actually on tv... All I'd ever seen was a handful of re-runs and I'd only been able to see those because I'd fight for the remote in order to keep Aaron from changing the channel.

In fact the first time I ever really even heard about Sex in the City was when I was living in Italy. My crazy roomate Bethy ripped out SITC magazine pages and hung them up on the walls of our apartment for decoration. So I would stare at Carrie, Miranda, Samantha, and Charlotte and I had no idea who they were. In fact...I was even proud of the fact that I didn't watch that kind of "trash."

But now I am a new woman...a new woman who understands the trials and plight of four friends who are just trying to make it in this world. I've decided that Sex in the City is what real life is like if you don't know Jesus. I mean..real life if your are upper middle class / crazily wealthy, beautiful, and live in New York.

If you are a woman and you have not seen this movie yet....Grab your best friend and head over to the nearest movie theatre ASAP. You will laugh, cry, and decide that being best friends is the greatest thing in the world. (Just watch out for the sex scenes - wowsers!)

100th Post

Can you believe it - 100 POSTS! Unfortunately I don't have anything monumental to blog about (bummer). I'm just sitting at work waiting for the weekend to start.

We are going to dinner tonight with a couple from church. I am super pumped about La Fiesta, but super un-pumped about having to refrain from ordering a margarita. The couple we are going with is not the "we don't care if the pastor's wife drinks alcohol" type...they are super cool and everything, but just not that type. And whats funny is that I really don't drink anything with alcohol in it all that often (maybe one drink every couple months), but of course I am absolutely craving a margarita just because I can't have one. Ahhh such is life.

Tomorrow team family love is heading out to the pool in West. I've heard great things about this pool, so we'll see if it lives up to the hype! (It better because admission is $9.00 each)

Hmmm..what else? I went to the Spa at Canyon Oaks the other day. It was fabulous...I worked from home all morning and then in the afternoon I had a massage and facial. Now thats the life! In fact...if you ever need a massage make sure you book it with Katie at Canyon Oaks. I think it was the best massage I've ever had!

And speaking of best things ever.... We booked our mini vacation to Barton Creek in Austin! Last year Aaron surprised me with two nights at the Barton Creek resort for our 1 year anniversary. I wasn't super excited before hand - In fact, I think I even complained a little about going to a "resort" in Austin. Ummm...lets just say that I was proven wrong - BIG TIME. It was oh so fabulous and now we are going again. This time we are just staying one night because its a tad on the expensive side, but we are going to milk the one day for all its worth. I plan on checking in early and checking out late. July 10th can't get here fast enough!

Alright...I'm outtie

Covetous

cov·et·ous
–adjective
1.
inordinately or wrongly desirous of wealth or possessions; greedy.
2.
eagerly desirous.

As you all know, for the past several months I have been "covetous". Yes. Yes...I am talking about the absolutely fabulous William Rast jeans that I have been wanting ever since I went to New York in the fall. Well I am "covetous" no longer. Last night my parents came in town for my birthday and guess what they brought with them........ WILLIAM RAST!!! I am wearing them right now and I feel ever so stylish. Thank you mom and dad - I love em!

Thankfulness

This morning I read my friend Robin's blog... She and her husband are getting ready to go on a road trip up to Colorado. See, they both feel called to start a church in the Denver area and this is kind of a scouting trip to check out locations and such. Anyways, in her blog she mentioned that she got ready for the trip by doing all the usual things (packing, checking the map, and buying a new outfit or two). But, then it hit her that she hadn't been spiritually preparing herself for the journey.

After reading her blog I commented about how quick I am to forget to spiritually prepare for things as well. Anyways, I left my comment and then signed off so that I could actually start doing my job at the Network. Well all of the sudden...it hit me. God answered a HUGE prayer that Aaron and I had been praying about for months. Our church has been without a music minister for a very very long time. Aaron and I have been praying and believing that God would bring us just the right person - and he did!

On Sunday, Ryan Roberts said that he would be our music minister for the summer. He's a Baylor Football player (quarterback), so he's super busy during the school year but he has plenty of time this summer to lead worship for our little congregation at Hilltop Christian Fellowship. Thank you so much Lord for answering our prayer - we can't wait to see what great things your are going to do next!!

Rough Start

This morning got off to a rough start...

After walking the dogs and talking to my best friend Amelia, I came inside to get Aaron and Chris up because today is our day to pick up food for the local food pantry. We were a little bit behind schedule, but we made it out the door just in time. All the sudden Aaron's car started lurching and we noticed that the huge trailer we were pulling was bouncing all over the road. My hero of a husband kept the car under control and made it over to the side of the highway. It turns out that Chris had forgotten to fasten the trailer to the hitch (oops). It could have been a really dangerous situation, but thankfully nobody was hurt. Aaron was a little shaken up and pretty upset with Chris. But, we all moved on and got to the pick up site without any further trouble.

Once there, we noticed all of our volunteers just standing around and there was no food in sight. My stomach just dropped and I started shaking with frustration. See...I'm the volunteer coordinator and I had called, begged, and pleaded to get all of the volunteers out there in the first place. And now there was NO FOOD to pick up. This is the 3rd time this has happened in the last three months and all of my volunteers were beginning to get a little fed up. So I got on the phone with the director of the CRISIS Center and asked what was going on. Turns out that he decided that he wanted to have food pick up on a different day and had neglected to let anyone know. Well, I couldn't hold my feelings in any longer...so I let him know just how I was feeling (and how all of the volunteers were feeling by this point). Needless to say, it was not a very pleasant conversation.

Aaron and I invited everyone to come have breakfast with us at a local mexican food place and everything ended up being okay...but I have a feeling that most of these volunteers won't be coming back to help anymore. Bummer!

The Rule of Four

FOUR THINGS ABOUT ME

Rachael Johnson


A) FOUR PLACES I GO OVER AND OVER:
To my luxuriously fabulous bed because I love sleeping, to Chris’ baseball games, on long walks with my two pups (sometimes the cat, or Chris, or Aaron come along), and to work at the Waco Regional Baptist Network.


B) FOUR PEOPLE WHO E-MAIL ME (during the day)Waco Church People, Chris’ Caseworkers, My roomies from Italia, and if I’m lucky…my sweet husband.


C) FOUR OF MY FAVORITE FOODS:Yummm.. Hummus and Pita Bread, Chipotle Burritos, Frosted Flakes and Chocolate Milk, and Spinach Salad with Olive Oil.


D) FOUR PLACES I WOULD RATHER BE RIGHT NOW:The beach (sipping a margarita and getting a tan), getting a massage, playing outside with the family, or hanging out on the lake.


E) FOUR PEOPLE I THINK WILL RESPOND:Amelia, Andrea, Sarah, and EJ


F) FOUR THINGS I DON'T LIKE:Gas prices (youch!), being at work, complainers, and people who aren’t friendly – Texas Style!


G) FOUR MOVIES/TV Series I WATCH OVER AND OVER: Aaron’s football highlight videos (he was so cute as a little kid), The Office, Lord of the Rings, The Holiday


H) FOUR FAVORITE SOUNDS:Praise songs from the heart, Moving Water (oceans, rivers, streams), Wind, The Baylor Bells


I) FOUR FAVORITE SMELLS: Summer Rain, New Shoes/Tennis Balls/New Cars, Chanel Chance Perfume, and Fresh Flowers. (I also like the way Aaron smells when he’s sleeping…its so good!)

A few pictures for your viewing pleasure

I couldn't seem to get my labels to fit in below the pictures, so here are some basic descriptions:

- Corvette Museum

- Aaron and little cousin Elijah

- Me, Mom, and Elijah at the covered bridge by my grandparents house

- Fishing at my Aunt and Uncle's house

- Birthday Gifts.... Juicy Sweatsuit, New Necklace, and Fabulous Book

- Flowers (this doesn't even begin to do justice...Aaron filled the entire house!)

Oops I Did It Again

(gotta love old school Britney!)

Sorry for being MIA for over a week...things have been moving fast and furious around these parts. Here's an overview of what's been going on with the Johnson Family:

ROADTRIP USA
We left last Wednesday night for my cousin's wedding up in Indiana. It was our first family roadtrip and I thought it was great! We stopped in Bowling Green, Kentucky the first night because Bowling Green is the home of the National Corvette Museum. I'd never been a huge corvette fan, but I wanted to keep the guys happy so of course we had to stop. Ummm...let me just say that I now LOVE corvettes! I don't think I'll be driving one anytime soon (I'm still happy with my little Acura), but they are SOOO COOL! The best part about the museum was the parking out front. They had a "Corvette Parking Only" area and the cars that were out there were even better than some of the ones inside the building.

We also had to make a pit stop in Bowling Green so that I could go to the doctor....yep I had a horrible case of bug bites / poison ivy. Can you believe it....I literally had both bug bites and poison ivy covering my legs, booty, and stomach!!! How does this always happen to me??? But thankfully the doc gave me some medicine (that I'm still taking) and it made life so much easier.

After Bowling Green, we drove the rest of the way up to Indy and had a great time with family. Wedding stuff took up the most of our short time there (0nly three days), but we made sure to get in some fishing, football playing, and strawberry-rhubarb pie eating.

Here's a funny little story from the trip - Sweet ol' 8th grade Chris saw a cute little girl at the wedding who had also just finished the 8th grade. At one point in the night he come up to me and my dad and asked us if he should go talk to her. We of course told him yes and then said that he should even ask her to dance because she'd probably think he was really cool and brave for asking her. So, he worked up his nerve and headed over to her and proceeded to ask her to dance. Now I don't know exactly what was said, but she turned him down....CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT!!!!??? I felt horrible for Chris...8th grade is a rough time for guys and any girl that turns someone down for just a dance is terrible - What a little hussy!!!! In her defense she did seem really shy, but still...I'm on Chris' side!

Anyways..we made it back safe and sound by Tuesday afternoon because I had to be back at work by Wednesday - boo!!!


25th Birthday CELEBRATION!!!
Yep I turned the big 2-5 yesterday. I had to work, but my sweet co-workers took me out to lunch at Panera (yum!) so that made the day a little better. Because Chris had his last regular season baseball game last night, we decided to put off really celebrating until Saturday So after work, we all went to the game where our team unfortunately lost horribly, but Chris hit a triple so at least he had a little something to smile about.

Aaron and I drove separate, so I stopped at Sonic on the way home to pick up food for everyone. Well when I walked in the door...was I in for a surprise. My sweet husband and son had super deep cleaned the house (usually they just sorta pick things up and move them around), there were beautiful vases of flowers everywhere, and presents for me on the table!!! It was so wonderful to walk in the door and be surrounded by so much love...especially when I wasn't expecting anything until Saturday. Aaron and Chris both got me really special cards and some great gifts.

All in all it was a great night...family, flowers, presents, SONIC, and a little Lord Of The Rings (wer are in the middle of watching the trilogy because Chris hadn't ever seen it).

Anyways that about wraps it up...

Cheers!