Family Visits & The Flight of Battlecat

Long time no post...... sorry..... we've had some visitors and things have been quite busy.

My parents came to visit the 2nd weekend of the month! They got in Thurs. night and left Sunday night (their flight wasn't scheduled to leave until after 9 which is quite late for my mom!).

When they got in, we went to eat at Golden Corral - as is the tradition of my people. On Friday Erin went to get her haircut with my mom while my dad and I hung out at Borders and read books.... My dad was flipping through Horton's Intro to Covenant Theology and I was reading Knoll's Scandal of the Evangelical Mind! After haircuts and dinner, we went to an Astros game... it was Astros - Rockies... my mom was rooting for the Rockies..... the game was pretty blah until the 6th or 7th when I donned my rally cap and the Astros went on a 6 run tear in response. My mom (who was rooting for the Rockies) was mortified that I rallied the Astros with my Denver Broncos hat..... I fear that I am something of a Colorado traitor to her......

The Astros have sucked since that game so perhaps God (who is a Broncos fan) is punishing me for abandoning a Denver-based team in their time of need.....

On Saturday we went to IKEA in the morning and to NASA and Kemah (www.kemahboardwalk.com) in the evening. We ate at a restaurant called The Aquarium which has a lot of....get this.... fish tanks in the restaurant. There were some pretty cool sharks and eels. On Sunday we went to Kaleo and then paid our homage to Katy Mills.... the largest outlet mall around.

Apparently Continental had some issues leaving on time as they were waiting for travelers coming in from the port in Galveston after arriving late from a cruise... my parents didn't get back to Layton until 3 am.....

I really miss my parents! My mom - who is petrified when approached by anything with more than two legs was excellent with Battlecat.... she petted her and never once was she (my mom) compelled to dive onto the couch in fear! My dad got me an early birthday gift - The Mel Brooks Collection on DVD!!!!!! We got to watch cool movies together including The Blues Brothers. My parents also got Erin and I an armoire as a house-warming present. The cool thing about the armoire is that my dad and I got to put it together.... and we like putting things together and watching cool movies (cool movie is defined as any movie that my mom would deem as inane or otherwise contributing to the death of my brain cells). As an aside I did watch Robin Hood: Men in Tights two times in a row the other day!

Two weeks after my parents came, Joshnita came for Memorial Day weekend. Josh arrived Friday morning and after lunch, he and I dug up our backyard. We loaded our garbage can and wagon with grass and dirt and smoothed out the rest.... we tried to get some dirt bags to even out the backyard the next day and quickly realized that we needed a truck to do the job.... perhaps I will get that done this weekend if it stops raining.

On Saturday we went to Nasa and the Aquarium restaurant in Kemah (sound familiar..... there's not a whole lot going on in Houston.....). The strange thing about the Saturday adventure was that there was nobody at the Aquarium....... two weeks before we waited for at least an hour and a half to be seated but this time we walked in and were seated immediately.....Erin and I had bought three tickets to a water park to use for the weekend... we'd planned to go Sunday but alas... it was raining so after church we went to the Galleria..... the Galleria is a huge mall right near our house.... and again..... there was hardly anybody there... the whole thing was kind of eery..... After the Galleria we took Erin home to study and Joshnita and I went to see X-Men 3.... which was an OK action flick, but I really enjoyed the first two better.....

On Monday Joshnita and I went to look at cars... we looked at Cobalts, Corrolas, and the Yaris which we were both impressed with! Then we went to the Body Worlds exhibit at the musuem of natural science (www.bodyworlds.com). This is an exhibit of real human bodies..... an anatomical exhibit... there was only time where I really felt compelled to vomit......it involved a trapeze. We also got free tickets to the Ur exhibit.... Ur is where Abraham (you know... Father Abraham.... he had many sons... and many sons had Father Abraham.... I am one of them.... and so are you... so let's all praise the Lord ________ insert motion). Unfortunately the Ur exhibit was more like a pottery collection...which I guess is cool if you're into that... I was hoping for a bit more history......anyway we rushed through it to get Joshnita to the airport for his 5:30 flight.

After we dropped Josh off we were on our way home when he called to say that his flight had been delayed.... to 9:30..... so we decided to go back and pick him up to take him to dinner..... unfortunately the airline wouldn't let Josh leave.... they made it sound like at any moment they were going to pull an aircraft from the hangers and head to SLC.... Erin and I got temporary gate passes and had dinner with Josh inside the airport. After we got done with dinner (around 8) the departure board said the flight had been delayed another hour.... Erin called the airline and the told her that the flight which was taking Josh to SLC wasn't going to arrive in Houston until 10:27 if it left on time..... so there's no way the flight would leave by 10:30..... so we decided to try to get Josh on standby for the 9:05 at another gate..... we went to board the tram to the next game only to find out that the tram was temporarily out of service.....

Long story short... Erin and I enjoyed 4 hours at George Bush Intercontinental with Josh and he was able to get on the 9:05 and arrived in SLC around 11:30.......

The Flight of Battlecat.....

Battlecat has been growing in her rebellious efforts......she seems to be incapable of heeding the command: Come. She will sit from a mile away but if you tell her to come she just runs..... Erin and I have been letting her roam free on our gated street so she can frolic, eat wood chips, and poop! Two days ago I was walking out the door to pick up some groceries when Battlecat met me at the door looking quite distraught. She pleaded with me to go outside.... and I acquiesed. Battlecat ran to the end of the street..... I went to the end of the street and she bolted to the front of the street... coincident with her sprint, our neighbors were loading stuff into their trucks outside the gate.... Battlecat seized the moment and ran into the street.... I followed her....walking so as not to make her think I was giving chase... she ran up to another man with a dog and stayed there barking and hopping until I arrived and she bolted down another street and into a cul de sac. There are two homes with no fence dividing the backyards..... after 10 min of chasing her from one side of the backyard to the other I enlisted the help of a man who was at the used car dealership across the street.... the plan: to chase Battlecat from one side and have her cornered by my accomplice. Unfortunately Battlecat realized she was cornered and sprinted past me before I could pounce. Back up the street she went..... by this time Erin had decided to come see where we were.... and Battlecat went right up to her.........must be a chick thing....

This morning Battlecat tipped Erin's study table over as she was goofing around and Erins cereal tipped onto her laptop.....bummer #1.

Erin called me on the way home from school while she was on the train.... and that's the last place she remembered having her phone. So Erin is having a sad day..... we're hopeful that someone turned her phone into a train operator. When I got home from work, her laptop seemed to be in working order (other than some sticky keys....).

Well.....I will post several pictures this weekend....

That's all for now.

Erin: Before & After

I've dropped off the e-map.... sorry for being a bad updater/commenter.......

Chris - I swear I will catch you on IM soon....

I also resolve to blog about my parents visit (we had an awesome time!)

But for now - Erin:

Before......

After her haircut.... 10 in. to locks of love!

Sorry, no brown rice on Sunday

Erin in front of a sign at the capitol.....

The office of Terry Tottenham

This is a statue to honor the 'confederate dead' at the state capitol. There's no mention of the union here... I'm not even sure I saw anything about the United States.... just Texas and the confederacy.....here's hoping TX leaves the union and we get dual citizenship.

Jess and Erin in front of the capitol
The bar area at the Hula Hut where we spent an hour and half consuming 5 or so bowls of chips and queso.....mmmmmm.......
Jess and a cannon.
The view from the Tottenham's backyard... amazing.... notice the topography
Jess, her mom, and my Erin.

And now.... a real post:

So.... we went to Austin to visit Erin's college roomie: Jessica (she and Alamo need a blog) Tottenham! Jess is a staff worker for Young Life in SLC. Jess has an amazing opportunity to start a Capernaum Club ministry in SLC to disadvantaged youth (http://www.younglife.org/Pages/Capernaum.htm).

Jess was in town to update some of her TX based ministry supporters about her work with Young Life and the new opportunities doing Capernaum. A little known fact about Jessica Tottenham is that she was born right here in Houston! Who knew? Another fact about Jess is that her passion for all things TX is sort of justified... at least when it comes to Austin.

Austin is beautiful..... Houston is this flat concrete jungle...... Austin has rolling hills...everything is green... there's lots of crazy hippies and really cool confederate memorabilia.... oh and ton of bats that live under a bridge. Austin is home to the main campus of UT, Amy's Ice Cream (which is.... dare I say it.... more glorious than the Midvale Cold Stone...) and the Tottenham's.

Erin and I stayed with Jess and her family at their amazing home. Her oldest sister Joe was in town with her twin boys who were very shy and silly. I really admire their life... they sleep for like 10 hrs, get up... eat.... poop their pants... wait 'till someone changes them.... go back to sleep... and repeat.... it's amazing!

Speaking of pooping your pants... I heard a life-changing story from a source that shall remain nameless.....

A friend had gone to a bachelor party in the great state of TX.... and this was their activity for the evening:

Everyone put on a pair of depends.... took some ex-lax, and wrestled the night away.... last man to poop his pants wins! What a glorious way to spend your last night as a bachelor!!!!!!

Here's a quick list of guys I'd like to wrestle and poop my pants with:

1) My Dad - who introduced me to professional wrestling (Old School Wrestlemania Videos - we used to get big bags of popcorn and watch Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant go at it!), Mel Brooks, and the Broncos, and just about everything else that makes me manly!

2) Jonathan Hays - Jonathan would be too funny..... he embraces his.... physique and the physical comedy of him pooping himself would be too much to handle.

3) Sean Patrick - I dare not speculate on what his wrestling outfit might look like... I just hope it's made of mesh

4) Gep/Dittmer/Schwarz/Ari: My college roomies from the crack house and el caliente apts! We watched wrestling pay per views together.... .Kyle and I retook Physics because we played wrestling so much.... Ari gets special bonus points for his luche libre qualities (he can reverse a powerbomb - although he's a little guy... so his poop would not be as explosive)

The next dude to get married.... PLEASE consider this for your bachelor party, and consider inviting me!

OK.... back to Austin....

So the first night there was Jess' Donor Dessert....... one of her neighbors made a ton of desserts from scratch... espresso brownies, strawberry cheesecake thingies.... chocolate cake..... it was AWESOME.... all natural ingredients too for those of you Whole Foods types....

It was cool to meet all the sweet people who showed up!

On Saturday we made our obligatory pilgrimage to the State Capitol! Everyone who crosses the state line needs to visit the State Capitol. It is beautiful.... we found out why Six Flags (the theme park) is called Six Flags..... we found out that God & TX are inextricably linked, and we saluted the soldiers who fought valiantly for the confederacy......and I mounted a cannon.....

After the capitol, we went around the campus of UT which was quite impressive....the soccer stadium is huge! After we drove around the stadium we went to the Hula Hut for lunch.
The wait at the Hula Hut was an hour and half... which fortunately is just the right amount of time to sit in the bar area with some chips and queso and people watch the crazy texans! (It would be redundant to say crazy inebriated texans... as all texans are by legal mandate inebriated after 1 PM) By the time we ate we were full from the chips... but the Hula Hut was awesome... right on a river/lake thing.... you can boat right to the restaurant!

After lunch we went back home and chilled out while I watched the NFL Draft..... I can't comment here on my NFL Draft thoughts..... it would distract from my focus on Austin, and pooping.

Saturday night we went to dinner at this sub shop called Thundersomething.... It was like 8PM and this joint closed at 9.... which for some reason meant they'd shut off everything that could be used to heat anything in the building..... like a sandwhich or meat.... etc. But that didn't dissuade us. When we got to the counter I was filled with glee... the young, potentially stoned, sales attendant had a full color tattoo of several characters from He-Man! I promptly told him about my dog named Battlecat to which he replied something incoherent...... I was soooooo let down by his lack of enthusiasm... perhaps he was hallucinating when he got the tattoo?

So we followed the subs with some Amy's Ice Cream and then saw Thank You for Smoking.... I'm always up for satire and thought the movie was quite funny... although I could have done with about 600 less f-bombs per sentence.

On Sunday we went to Johnny Rob's church - Redeemer Presbyterian. The sermon was awesome... a little Luke 24 meets Genesis 3... I dug it! They had an intense organ player which was cool. After service we went to lunch at this Chinese joint.....

The server came to take our order, and I requested brown rice.... to which he replied... We don't serve brown rice on Sundays......

I'm not sure what that means..... I was too amazed to ask why not......

After lunch Erin and I had to leave the beautiful land of Austin and head back to Houston.... and though we were excited to see Battlecat and eat at Dairy Queen on the way.... we were quite sad to leave behind hills and Tottenhams.

With Apologies.....

Fear not faithful blog readers, a new post is coming soon...... one that will chronicle our adventures in Austin with our hostess Jessica Tottenham!

A mini-update concerning the adoption of a sister for Battlecat...... we looked at three dogs and took Battlecat to play with them.... but couldn't decide on one for her. Erin's spring break week was spent waiting at the house for workers to do warranty updates on our house - waiting around for workers to show up when you could be doing all sorts of other things = bummer.

And now a picture to quench your thirst......

A revolution in home hair-cutting

Kudos to those who know the subject reference....

The purpose of this mini-post is to exhort all my readers to join me on the mini-blog revolution {This mini blog revolution was started by Lazlo the Destroyer (aka Danny Maland).}

Here's how it works: Hop on over to Chris Snow's blog (http://www.csnow.blogspot.com)
and leave your own completely random mini blog as a comment on the most recent post.... fear not - as Chris only updates once a millenia there is no chance of you commenting on the wrong post....

Viva la mini-blogolution!

If this does not seem revolutionary to you: there is a chance that you might be lame.....

Last week of Battle-Training

As students across America are preparing for their final exams, so too - our daughter is finishing her first (only?) session of class. Battlecat Umbriaco is the star pupil. Everyone in class comments on how well behaved she is (hopefully this will re-assure my mom before she comes out to visit!) and she listens to directions quite well - of course if Battlecat is left alone all day while Erin and I are at work/school she is a bit ferocious, but that is to be expected... she is aptly named. Now - some pictures of Battlecat establishing her dominion over the living room.

Note the ridge down the center of her back - this appears when she is in Battle-Mode. Battlecat stands watch in every window she can get her paws in! She is truly a faithful security system.Also of note are her bulging battle-biceps which she employs in conjunction with her mouth when we play tug o' battle war (one of her favorite games). After she is done chewing a toy she likes to play tug o' war with the leftover scraps! She is quite silly but we appreciate her frugality.... in fact her favorite treat these days is an ice-cube... any time she hears us getting ice she comes running. Ice-cubes are well within our budget.Battlecat practices the art of war.

Blast from the Past

Here's some pictures from the vault:(R): Sean & Rachael (M): Us (L) J-rad & Amie & the lovely Jessica Tottenham is being held up. We're going to see Jess in Austin in a couple of weeks!
This is a picture of Erin & I opening wedding presents after we got back fom our honeymoon.
Here's a picture of our kitchen when we first moved in. This past weekend we helped a couple (Jason & Julia) move into their new house and I don't envy the long days of unpacking ahead of them....
Here's a picture of Battlecat & I in better days..... in recent times (read last night) Battlecat has been far more ferocious... she woke us up @ 3:45 am barking at a cat perched on our fence outside.... she wouldn't stop barking.... uggh... didn't get back to sleep until 4:30ish. Also in recent times the beard has taken a vacation.... Erin thinks it's too scratchy - so it's the goatee for awhile... but hopefully the beard will be back... I think shaving everday is scratchy.

Upcoming Events:

1) Erin has tests all next week

2) We are going to adopt a sister for Battlecat after her tests are finished!

3) We're going to visit Jess in Austin

4) My parents are coming to visit the second weekend in May!

Currently Reading:

I've had to shelf OP's Christ of the Covenants for now....I keep trying to read it at the gym... bad move... you have a rad voice OP - but you're too academic to read on the stair-thingy.... I've been reading Spurgeon at the gym and he's a lot easier to handle.

Christ and Culture - This is my train book along with Blink (a recommend from my work-friend Katy!) Right now I'm reading about the Christ against Culture view, and this (along with Covenant's Ancient Church History course) has confirmed my view that Tertullian was straight up wack.....

Grudem's Systematic - slowly but surely....

Newly Acquired: Horton's Intro to Covenant Theology (I'll probably have to read this one to better understand my boy OP). Roland Allen's Missionary Methods: St. Paul's or ours (next on tap for the train reading). Bavink's Reformed Dogmatics Vol2 (Thanks Dru!)....

Blue Like Jazz has been recommended by like 6000 individuals so I guess that will be my next gym read.... it sounds like a book I could be into whilst at the gym....

That is all....

peace out.

-jake

1-2-3-4 Sumpin' New

Battlecat has gone insane - there is no controlling her: she is off the proverbial hook.

In other news - Erin and I went to the D Webb/ Sandra McCracken show this past Sunday with our neighbors, Joel, and Hieu!

Sandra is amazing and she played some beautiful arrangements - Derek threw down some requests and then played straight through Mockingbird w/ Sandra. Great show - I really appreciate Derek's music because he is saying something to the culture other than 'Jesus is super duper....' If the reality of the incarnate Son of God doesn't compel us to act than it is no reality for us....

Anyway - I'm going to pass out.... too tired.... Battlecat has been keeping us up very late.... must sleep.

The Wedding of Sticky & Christina

Sticky and I walking in.....
Los Umbriacos
Dos Umbriacos
Me & my sis
Two happy Rudnickis
Mas Umbriacos
Amy's fiancee John is the one on the left
Parents etc.
Sticky making the magic happen.

Tale of Two Cities

Long couple of weeks......

Erin and I had to drive to Dallas (the day after Grandpa passed) so we could catch a flight to the SLC the next morning (incidentally it was $800 less per person to fly out of Dallas....). The drive to Dallas worked out well as it meant that we got to see Brandy Patrick on back to back weekends... but I was also able to spend time with mi amore - Corey Duncan (and his wife was there also...) Corey and I stayed up until 3 and then we got up at 6 to go to the airport.

We drove up to Green River with Juanita and Joshnita and spent Friday evening at the family viewing and rosary service..... (I've not been to mass in sometime and when it came time for the 'Our Father' I realized a little too late that the "for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and ever" isn't recited....)

We spent alot of time with all of Erin's various relatives which was a lot of fun! We stayed Sat. night in a room with Jenny and Richie and their dog, Harley. On Sunday Juanita, Erin and I decided to go up to the gravesite (the funeral was on Saturday - thanks Mom & Dad, and Rud's for coming up). Right at was rounded a bend in front of the cemetery Juanita lets out a yelp..... "It's a bear!"

Allow me to post a visual comparison of the animal she saw and the animal she thought she saw:

A Polar Bear:

Actually it was a sheep:

But that's an honest mistake! So we had a good time joking about Juanita's 'Polar Bear.'

When Erin and I got back to Dallas on Tuesday - Marylin met us at the airport (DFW is an amazing airport BTW) and brought us back to Brandy's. We said to Brandy for a minute and got on the road.... we got back to Houston around 11:30 PM - went to work Wed and Thursday and Friday morning we flew to Chicago for Sticky's wedding where I had the honor of serving as best man!

I was going to post some wedding pictures but blogger is having upload issues.... weak blogger.... not strong.

Tomorrow: wedding pics.

For Joe.

Earlier today Erin and I got the news that her grandfather Joe 'Ross' Vigil passed away after a 2-month struggle to recover from a massive stroke. I knew Joe as a story-teller. Every time I saw him - he had a story.... about eating horse meat when he served in the military or catching a train to Denver for a Broncos game.... from a fishing yarn to nights of jitterbug dancing with his wife - the man was overflowing with memories. As I sit here I'm unsure of how to react. Death is where the rubber meets the road for faith.... as much as humanity is concerned with our purpose here on Earth - I think we're all driven by the question of what happens when we die - and as Christians if there's no hope in death then we are irrelevant. We have nothing to say if we can't say death is ultimately beautiful.

We are all created as image bearers of the One God and from birth until our last breath - every scar and crinkle of our visage is reflective of something wholly other. That God would take on flesh and die gives us hope. That God is so consumed by zeal for His Holiness that He would put to death His Son for our sins is beautiful - and that we are offered hope of life eternal with Him because of the Son is something altogether other.... I don't have a word for that. So there is beauty in the passing of a saint - out of this world to a place where there is no suffering - just the radiance of a broken lamb in a forever healed body.

For a man who's stories I'd only 5 years to hear - now with the Story everlasting:
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit brother, Amen.

Goodbye Grandpa.

The Stella Link

Jonathan and Sarah had a baby..... Tiffany and Nolan just had number two..... pretty much every human I went to high school with has had a baby..... so what is keeping us from having one.....

This thought occurred to me yesterday as Erin and I read the news that Sarah had given birth...... but as I thought about it some more I just didn't think I could live with the guilt.

Can you imagine the pyschological trauma this child would suffer? How could I ever look my child in the face and explain that this person that Erin and I brought into the world was born.... in Texas?

They issue you three things upon birth in Texas:
1) Birth Certificate
2) Concealed Weapons Permit
3) Gift certificate for http://www.texasjacks.com/

Even if we moved when the child was very young - I don't think they can ever fully repress the memories of Texas. The child would always fight an overwhelming desire to listen to country music... Erin and I have already begun intensive shock therapy to convince ourselves that we're actually in Deleware..... how could we do this to a child?

Alas, poor Battlecat is showing many symptoms of a dog who is clearly aware of where she is from..... She keeps bringing home flyers for this place:

http://www.trayerscowdogs.com/index.html



If I ever post a picture of Battlecat in this kind of a get up.... you'll know that Erin and I have reached the breaking point....

On an entirely different note: Erin and I were up in Ft. Worth where we consumed many ribs with Brandy, Marylin, Doug, (assorted canines & stuffed armadillos) and Sean and Rachel who were in town for spring break!

This weekend the Duncans are visiting the fair state of TX so we're looking forward to seeing them..... and the next weekend.... the wedding of Chicago Sticky.

That is all for now

Update

Here's Erin's Birthday Present!
Erin and I sitting on her new piano benchErin and Brandy gettin' their craft on
Brandy w/ Battlecat on the Love Sac (note blanket protecting Brandy's skin from touching suede!)
Battlecat in her natural habitat
Battlecat hanging out on the futon

Long time no post..... my bad. Things have been crazy here lately: Erin has been sick - since she's been sick she had to miss some school which stressed her out.... stress + sick = sad. Sad Erin received some sad news and flew back to SLC today to be with her grandfather who, after suffering a major stroke in January, has taken a turn for the worse. All of that is a lot to handle for her....

We were stoked to have Brandy with us before Erin got sick.... Brandy was quite ingenuitive with her sewing endeavors engineering a spindle out of several DVDs and a pencil. We also discovered Lee's Burgers and More. Lee is this older Asian dude who runs a burger/chinese food joint a couple blocks from our house. Lee's special: 1/3 lbs. Burger, Fries, and a Drink: $3.29..... amazing! The other food revelation was: General Joe's located in the Fiesta down the street. This too is amazing. Erin and I have grieved being apart from Chop Suey Luey's and the Chinese Food place in Smith's on 9th and 9th.... General Joe's has helped me cope.... cheap Chinese - the General Joe's Combo also less than $4!

Random Thoughts:

1) Broncos cutting Mike Anderson = weak.

2) The Utes Men's B-Ball Team sucks worse than I've ever seen them suck..... which sucks. No march madness makes me sad.

3) Houston 1836 changed their name to Houston Dynamo

4) Erin and I are stoked for the new Hays addition!

Please pray for Erin and her family.

Houston 1836

I was going to post about how lame it is that Houston 1836 is going to be re-named, but Joel (see link on right) beat me to the punch.....

Political correctness is just a really thin veil for complete moral relativism.

P.S. I am no longer observing Independence Day as it would offend the Brits.....

This whole thing is totally Mutu (there are only three people on the planet who get that reference but it couldn't be more appropriate....John Elliot is the only one who reads this blog who can understand...)

4 Things....

Because Jonathan's blog mandated it:

Four jobs I’ve had:

1. Crew Trainer - McDonald's at Layton Wal-Mart
2. Camp Counselor - Camp Aspen Ridge/Hull Valley - Preston, ID (of Napoleon Dynamite Fame)
3. Sales Associate @ Old Navy, The Gap, and Banana Republic
4. Lagoon RV Park and Campground Co-Manager w/ Sticky Paul Rudnicki

Four movies I could watch over and over:

1. Wanye's World
2: BASEketball
3: Any Harry Potter Movie
4: Spaceballs

Four places that I’ve lived:

1. Bolling Air Force Base, Washington D.C.
2. Edwards Air Force Base, CA
3: Layton/Salt Lake City, Utah
4. Houston, TX

Four TV shows that I love:

1. Gilmore Girls
2. Smallville
3. 7th Heaven - I hate this show - the acting, the dialogue - it makes me nuts... and because of that I am bizzarely bound to each new episode.....
4. Seinfeld

Four places I’ve vacationed (I don't really vacation..... but here's some cool places I've been):

1. Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
2: Frascatti, Italy
3: Playa del Carmen, MX
4: Victoria, British Columbia, CA

Four of my favorite dishes:

1. Chicken Flautas smothered w/ green chile and cheese, side of rice
2: The chuychanga
3: Chicken Strips
4: Carmel Snickers shake from Burger Stop, Layton, UT

Four sites I visit daily:

1. www.capitolhillbaptist.org
2. www.soccernet.espn.go.com
3. www.cnn.com
4. www.sltrib.com

Four places I would rather be right now:

1: Houston (When Erin doesn't have to study and I don't have to work)
2. The SLC
3. Roma
4. Mozambique con mi amore

Four people who must now do this survey:

1. Destroyer, Lazlo The
2. il cane - Corey Duncan
3. Bill "I don't read fiction" Streger
4. Sticky Paul Rudnicki

Weak....

What a bummer weekend:

This past weekend was one of my saddest yet.....

The Super Bowl was pretty weak - unless you were a die-hard Steelers fan I'm not sure how anyone derived any enjoyment from that game.... I can't believe the Squawks couldn't capitalize on any of their first-half drives.... they really dominated that game... and Roethlisberger tried his hardest to channel Jake Plummer and throw touchdowns to the other team but to no avail.... Randle-El bailed him out. Anyway - a win's a win no matter how crappy your QB plays (as this jaded Broncos fan knows too well) and it's a feel-good story for Cowher, Bettis, and Co.

The overall lamesness of said Super Bowl (plus a weak crop of commercials) is not what made this weekend such a bummer though - what really bummed me out was that Battlecat was sick all weekend! Battlecat and I have such a tight bond and I was so sad all day Saturday - she wouldn't eat or drink or take a treat... she wouldn't play - she dragged along when I took her on walks.... mostly she slept curled up against me on the Love-Sac and I just sat there and rubbed her belly wishing she would feel better. If my dog makes me this sad when she's sick I'll probably have to be institutionalized should I have a child who gets sick......

Saturday evening Battlecat started to feel a little better - I started hand-feeding her little kibbles and then her appetite came back - she ate a little food then she did a little poop! Sunday was a better day but she was still a pretty bummered Battle Puppy.

Today she dug a big hole in the backyard and ate all of her food.... and she dragged me up and down the street on her "walk" so I think she's feeling better!

On a happier note:

1) Erin's grandpa (Pictured above with her grandma, sister, brother, brother-in-law, and hisband!) has been moved to St. Joe's Villa for long-term care and recuperation - I got to talk to him on the phone the other day (although he can't speak still - it's nice to hear that he's smiling).
1) Erin got a really sweet card from our fellow Texan transplant Brandy Patrick!
2) We hung out with some fellow Kaleocians at our house on Friday night.
3) Kevin Eastham scored free tickets to Rice- Memphis Mens Basketball (Memphis is #3 in the nation) and the game turned out to be really good (despite the fact that Rice plays in something that barely passes as a high school gym).
4) I met some cool folk at a Super Bowl get together over at Aaron and Charlene's house.
5) I found a surprise present for Erin's b-day that I'm really excited to get - you can start placing bets on the number of days it will take for her to return it :-)

Busy weekend.....

My usual weekend consists of taking Battlecat for a walk, doing chores, and watching cinematic classics like Masters of the Universe.....

This weekend was different.....

Chad Whitehead came into town - he was speaking at a conference for Houston 2nd Baptist North campus so I got to see him on Friday and Erin and I had lunch with him on Sunday! Friday night Erin's friend from school hosted a party for some of the students so we made some cupcakes and went over there for awhile..... they were playing speed scrabble when we got there and then they switched over to an absolutely maddening game called: Apples to Apples..... this game is completely subjective and there is no strategy to win..... grrrrr......

Our neighbors... the Rice football guys were hosting their usual Friday night booze fest complete with a huge ice block with grooves carved in it for taking shots...... the theme of their party was Black Out - so everyone wore black and presumably they drank until they blacked out..... definitely not my college experience.....

Sat. morning I helped BattleBill move, and then Aaron and I went to the Galleria with his sone Collin. Collin is like two years old, and at one point we were walking around the mall and Collin was in the middle of us holding both of our hands.... I wonder what people thought of that scene..... anyway that was amazing because I got two pair of dress pants and a dress shirt at Banana Republic for $27 which is pretty much my Banana world record.

On Sat night Erin and I went to her friend Lan Lan's house for Chinese new year! Lan's mom made the most intense feast ever.... there were more dishes here then at any chinese buffet I've ever been to..... it was quite the cultural experience.

Sunday we got up, and went to church - then we came home, put the roast in the crock-pot and went off to meet Chad for lunch where we were all ministered to by fajitas at Papasito's. There's something mystical about chips and salsa..... Chips and salsa hold a power over me that I can't overcome.... they just call out to me.... eat me.... eat me..... and I heed that call no matter how full I am.....
Anyway - Erin and I hurried back home to clean house before I took off for Nexus.
Erin and I hosted three of her fellow med students who went to BYU/U of U for dinner.... that was a really good time.... felt like being back home... we listened to the Sons of Provo CD that the bowlcut gifted me with (as an aside to Chris - I bought Andrew Peterson's album strictly off of your recommendation). My favorite song on Sons of Provo is called: Love Me, but don't show me" which has one of the best all-time lines in: My body is a temple girl and you ain't got no recommend.

If you don't get that line it's OK.... we'll talk later.

So that was the weekend....

I've finished several books lately:
I Love Mormons - David Rowe
The Normal Christian Life - Watchman Nee
Mere Christianity - CS Lewis

Right now I'm reading Christ of the Covenants by OP Robertson.... very slowly.... I wish I had the book on tape because he has an awesome southern drawl.....

Battlecat has class tomorrow.

That is all.....

First Day of School

Battlecat had her first day of school today! Doggy Obedience School is every Tuesday at 6:30 at the local Petsmart. Battlecat is terrified of the car.... but when she is surrounded by other canines she's in her element. Today all the dogs in the class got to sniff each other's butts until they were satisfied that there were no communist spies in their midst. Although my own butt was not sniffed, I felt like I was a part of their ritual and I think it's a cruel imposition by society that humans aren't allowed to indulge their own natural urge to sniff one another.

In other news - the Broncos lost, at home..... in the AFC Championship game.... to the Steelers. I don't hate the Steelers.... I hate that Plummer had four turnovers.....I think it's weak that the Broncos abandoned the run - and I think if the Steelers did that to our secondary - I'm glad we got shelacked by them and not the Colts who would certainly have destroyed us for the third year running........

I did think that Plummer had some amazing scrambles and got out of a ton of near sacks.... unfortunately he left the ball on the ground when he was escaping one too many times.
Maybe next year.....

As an aside.... if Roethlisberger wasn't injured mid-season that game could very well have been in Pittsburgh.

That's about it for me.... I appreciate all the comments from my last post.... especially those from 'Anonymous' - I was really encouraged by your comments.... I need to call you soon.

P.S. The picture doesn't have anything to do with the post.... I just thought I'd throw it up there..... anyone know where it was taken at?

Missing my wife

On Thursday Erin and I found out that her grandfather had a stroke. Erin flew out to SLC to be with him and her family in WY Friday morning. While Erin was praying/crying/visiting/studying I had a pretty battlifferous weekend..... just me... Battlecat, and playoffs. It's really hard to have Erin away and going through such an emotionally challenging situation and to not be able to be there and hold her and pray with her just sucks. She comes home tomorrow evening and I'm so excited to see her!

This weekend Mark and Sarah got married (www.sarahandi.com) and because Erin was out of town I went alone.... I love weddings because I can always relate to my own; but going to a wedding without my wife is like eating cake w/o Mrs. Rudnicki's icing..... there's definitely something missing. I did get to spend time with the brothers Bennett (Adam and Ian) and Joel - briefly.... so that was cool.

I came to a realization this weekend..... maybe more a point of clarity about something I've been recognizing about myself.....

If you've seen the movie 'Dogma' you may recall this scene where the lead gal is speaking to her friend and telling her about how she struggles with disbelief... and her friend replies... ah the mark of a true Catholic.....

In some ways I see myself in that comment. I remember when I first was knowing the Lord... how everything was new and exciting.... I used to be stoked for my work break so I could sit at the Arby's in Park City and just read and read.... everything was so fresh. I still like to read -but I've graduated from the Bible to random books of theology..... for some reason I'm more impressed with philosophies about what's contained in the Word and how to apply it rather than what the Word has to say for itself.... and with this de-mystification of the Holy Writ comes an ever increasing amount of apathy towards all things. It's rare that anything stirs my emotion and rarer still that I would act upon it...... Is apathy the mark of a seasoned 'believer'? Am I resigned to be ever-critical - always pointing out what's wrong with the Church and never part of anything approaching a solution?

I definitely feel like that sometimes...... I wish I could read the Bible like I did when I was a newborn and strip away my theo-baggage.... I wish my theo-baggage would magnify the Word rather than weigh me down.

I have hope though - there's always the brief moments on the train into work - where I can see the Gospel applied... as I sit there and read the Psalms I encounter the nations and something stirs within me. I guess I need to get involved.... to invest in something that draws me into 'real' life.

Well... that's my little rant.... haven't had one in awhile. Battlecat and I are going to lay on the love-sac and watch Harry Potter 2 for awhile and then I shall resume cleaning the house so that Erin can be fully relaxed when she gets home tomorrow.

I miss my wife.

-jake

P.S. Battlecat's archnemesis has been revealed: Our vacuum cleaner. The battle rages on.

What I'm up to lately

Because Erin has neglected her calling to the blogosphere... I shall post a brief update of what she's been up to. She just wrote a mini paper on the book - Mountains beyond Mountains about Dr. Paul Farmer's (http://www.pih.org/index.html) work in Haiti and other impoverished areas of the world. This book has really inspired Erin to begin considering international medicine and infectious disease - and I've really been into learning more about it with her as I've been re-awakened to a variety of social-justice issues.

Today I watched the instructional CD on how to use the Sumo Robots my Dad got Erin and I for Christmas! Soon I will be a sumo master!
I also got a great book called "I Love Mormons" for Christmas..... I've been reading it pretty much everyday since I've been back, and found it quite engaging so far. I appreciate the treatment of the LDS faithful as an ethnic group over-against the standard dismissal as a 'cult.' I'm about 80 pgs into and will have to give it a more thorough review when I'm finished.

This weekend Erin and I went over to Joel and Heather's house... we arrived there @7:45 ish and got back home 'round about 2 AM.....It's not like we watched three movies and climbed Kilimanjaro.... we were just hanging out - we had some dinner (thanks Heather!) and some RC Cola (thanks Joel).... and were blessed with some toots (thanks 'Bella). Holden was trapped in this closed-circuit loop of: Stand by the door.... sprint into the couch... fall over.... repeat. It reminded me of Erin's cousin Cy who went through a similar routine with our love sac (www.lovesac.com).

Erin and I are stoked for the return of Gilmore Girls and Smallville episodes this week! Huzzah!
Tomorrow Robyn Day is in town to take a test for medical school - Robyn is a med student at the Univ. of Utah and a friend of ours (she went to Ethiopia with Erin) and we are excited to have her over.

Erin and I have decided to take Battlecat to doggy obedience school...... there she can harness her powers and learn to channel the Power of Greyskull.

I leave you with a limerick in tribute to Battlecat -

When you get in the back of the car
You drool wherever you are
On my lap, on the seat,
On Erin's arm or the street.
But you haven't pooped so far.