Curry Genius resides in St Louis

On this day, March 6, 2010, I have taken it upon myself to deem Steve, "Steve-O" Eigsti the "Curry-Making Genius of the Millennium".  This title is not given lightly, for there is no written proof of this title bestowed on any St. Louis MVSer to date.  

 What makes Steve's genius so incredible, is that it is so unpracticed.  Is he currently with the Oriya people,  in Bangladesh, studying in the trade?  No. Is he harvesting turmeric or fenugreek to perfect his curry in West India? No. He is at a basketball game, perhaps dreaming of the curry creation he will next assemble, or perhaps not.  The complexities of Steve's mind, and his curry are not for us rice and bean making mortals to dwell upon. 


Editor's note: There has been some quiet speculation that grandiose food titles are given out with too much frequency, due to the lavish praise given to the Lasagna prodigy member of the support committe, Dave Herholtz.  I am here to assure you that this is  ungrounded speculation.  MUCH consideration is given to these titles and great work must be done to reach these daring levels of honor.

Lingo won't let go

hen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the bands which have connected them with a VOIP (internet phone) and to assume among the powers of the earth, the station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to cancel the service.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, Lingo, a VoIP (Voice over IP) provider in the United States owned by Primus Telecom a telecommunications provider which went bankrupt on March 16, 2009, has terrible company policies, and chooses to punish those who decide terminate their services.

We the People of the St. Louis Mennonite Voluntary Service unit, in order to reduce costs,  to eliminate an underutilized service, and focus on a bold new future of using Google Voice (hey if they are going to take over the world at least they organized) establish that it was necessary to cancel our Lingo account.

Phone companies are instituted among Men and Women, deriving their just powers from the consent of their customers — That whenever any telecommunication company becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the St. Louis MVS Unit to alter or to abolish it.

The history of Lingo's customer service is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over customers. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.  Lingo's tyrannical and oppressive customer service is egregious and well documented. 

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: we have tried to cancel our service but could not do so online,  experienced long delays and disconnections while trying to cancel our service over the phone.  When we reached the Billing Department they too have been deaf to the voice of justice and simply transfered us to the Cancellation Department where we were subjected to further delays and swing music. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of St. Louis Mennonite Voluntary Servic solemnly publish and declare, That this unit is, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent from Lingo, that we are Absolved from all Allegiance to Lingo, and that all telecommunication connections between us and Lingo, is and ought to be totally dissolved. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

-The St. Louis Mennonite Voluntary Service Unit

Okay so, perhaps we plagiarized a bit, so here's what we actually sent them.  In our attempts to have our  service canceled we forced to listen to swing music and we were hung up on several times but hey maybe it wasn't their fault.  Maybe the phone company just had a connection problem.  Oh wait they are the phone company.  We did  eventually get our service canceled but unfortunately, we had already made the decision to publicly badmouth this company.

Dear Sir or Madam,

I was not pleased with the Lingo cancellation process.  I had significant delays while I was waiting to speak to Lingo representatives and I was hung up on two times.  Furthermore, it was disappointing to not have the option of canceling online. 

I would like to commend the people who were answering the phones as when I actually was able to speak with representatives, they were courteous and handled my misplaced anger professionally.  My dissatisfaction is with the company policies that discourage helping customers that are leaving your service.  I can assure you that I will never consider using your products again and I will do my best to ensure that I tell as many people as possible about my dissatisfaction with your company.

Sincerely,


Steve Eigsti

Let's go Blues!

Tonight Mark and Steve have received the greatest gift of all.  No not love. Tickets to see the Blue of the National Hockey League.  They will be playing the Wild making it a match up between our very own St. Louis Blues and a team that I didn't know existed until I looked up who the Blues were playing several moments ago.  Needless to say our whole lives have been leading up to this moment.

The Blues of course lead the NHL in home losses so we are optimistic that our presence will spur them on to a better performance.  The Wild on the other hand are a team of hockey players who love to compete. They come from north of the equator and will give you their best every night.  The team is famous for using hockey sticks and made headlines earlier in the year for using, the subsequently banned, flying W formation.  I could look up actual information about the Wild but it seems easier to just make things up.

Well, we are off to the good old hockey game!

Roller Derby

On Saturday night we ventured out into the cold winter night in search of excitement.  We found the excitement we were looking for in the form of the Arch Rival Roller Girls.  Though no one in our unit had much knowledges of the history or regulations of Roller Derby we were quite pleased to experience this fun, fast paced, and at times befuddling sport.  We were a bit surprised to see the number of fans that turned out. There was a sell out crowd estimates topped 1,000 spectators (Mark thought 2500, so the jury's still out...speaking of jury, Steve has jury duty on Monday, fyi).  The venue was nice, the presentation of the sport was quite polished and included jeer leaders, mascots, and a very well done and helpful play by play.

The bout was a rematch of last year's championship between the M-80's and the Stunt Devils.  We ended up on the M-80's side of the rink and quickly adopted them as our Roller Derby team.  Unfortunately, the M-80's needed more than our support as the Stunt Devil's asserted their dominance part way through the first half.  The star of the game was Starry Starry Fight, a quick skater with exceptional balance, who scored 80 points. To put that in perspective that was over half of her team's total points (170) and eight points away from the 88 points the M-80's produced that evening.

All in all it was a fun evening which we capped off by heading to get some of St. Louis's best pizza.

Best Game you can name

Brett Hull is St. Louis hockey legend who was honored with much clapping, cheering, and yelling of "lace them up Brett we need you," a phrase that becomes less humorous each time it is yelled from a distance where said retired hockey can't possibly hear you.  Indeed on  Tuesday,  Blues fans united to celebrate the golden era of Brett Hull hockey.  I don't remember a lot about Brett's Hockey career but I do remember that if he was at his best when he skated down the edge of the rink, made a sharp turn slightly before the red line, hit the turbo, held the shoot button as his momentum carried him across the front of the goal, then released before the goalie could recover.  No one could do that like Brett.

It was fun to see a lot of former players stop by the Scottrade Center to honor Brett Hull's inclusion into the Hall of Fame.  The current Blues played a good game themselves and snapped a four game home losing streak.

Still the real story of the night was Brett Hull a small lad from Belleville, Ontario who came from a humble background and went on to becoming the ambassador of fun.

Special thanks to Dan Worth for inviting me along to the good old hockey game.

JAM day

Today we had a jam day which stand for Journaling and Meditation or something like that.   While this once a frequent experience for residents of St. Louis MVS these events have become few and far between.  Many people point to former MVS'er Amanda Maust as leading the opposition to this powerful chance for MVS'ers to reflect on their time in MVS, think about the direction they want the rest of the year to take, and generally enjoy the company of their fellow MVS'ers.  We may never know why Amanda made it her personal vendetta to eliminate Jam days.  However, we do know that we thoroughly enjoyed experiencing a JAM day and want to especially thank Pastor Samuel for leading our morning session.

Dave Herholtz: lasagna making prodigy

Dave Herholtz, member of St. Louis Mennonite Fellowship and MVS Support Committee member, may be the world's greatest lasagna maker. He and his wife Quincy recently invited the MVS'ers over for supper last Saturday.  As we (well the half of our unit who aren't vegetarians) were about to dig in Dave casually mentions that this is the first lasagna he's ever made.  As we ate it became apparent that Dave had natural ability, some latent skill in the art of pasta creation that was just waiting to be tapped.  Friends, I tell you the truth there is no way someone makes a lasagna that tasty on the first try unless they are a prodigy.  I'm still at a loss for how he found the perfect blend of cheeses to accompany the ideally seasoned beef and still managed to have the pasta impeccably cooked.  At a certain point though my head was spinning, I had to stop and accept that, though it defied logic, I was in the presence of a lasagna making legend who had yet to grasp his own genius.  Will he continue to be a dominate creator of lasagna or will he like many other prodigies be unable to live up to the lofty expectations that his early work created?  Only time will tell and we as MVS'ers only hope we will be invited back to their household to find out.

Where to even begin?

Lots of exciting stuff is happening hear in St. Louis. At the St. Louis Mennonite Peace Center the community garden has benefited from some serious rain and is producing substantial yields. Quite a few classes have made it out to the garden to harvest their crops. Mustard Greens are the most recent crop to become mature. Delicious dishes of greens and spinach have been prepared by several teachers and members of the fifth and sixth grades at Columbia Elementary have consumed more hot sauce then one would believe was humanly possible. Soon, lettuce will be ready for students to make salads. Currently the garden is cursed with a delightful problem: an overabundance of food.

Restorative Talking Circles continue to be active at Long Middle School though the hectic end of the year schedule has proven to be a challenge. As part of a Restorative Justice curriculum which was implemented by Community Conflict Services at Long Middle school students experience a weekly talking circle in which students sit in a circle with a facilitator and have discussions using a talking piece to give all students a chance to contribute. Community Conflict Services, a group of organization committed to promoting restorative justice practices in St. Louis, continues to explore ways to strengthen and expand its current school peace programs. The St. Louis Mennonite Peace Center staff will continue to be an active member of Community Conflict Service in the coming year.

As always we as a unit remain thankful for all the special connections we have made throughout this year. It has been a truly wonderful year and we continue to be blessed by the support of friends and family both near and far. Thank you and may God continue to bless the United States.

Meal cooking

With Wednesday night rapidly approaching our VS Unit is in desperate need of ideas for the Bible Study potluck that we will be hosting. Our Bible Study features a group of young adults who study the Good Word and its implications and relevancy to our modern lives.

Tonight’s topic will be ‘Spiritual Geography.’ We are incredibly fortunate to have a group of intelligent, biblically literate young adults to explore the Bible. These same young theologians are also great cooks and sometimes make our contributions to the potluck dinners seem inadequate.

That’s where we need your help loyal blog readers (the three of you are bond to come up with something). We need a vegetarian recipe that will win the respect and admiration of our peers. If you can work the theme of ‘Spiritual Geography’ into the cuisine it could help us earn bonus points. Help us! You are our only hope. We’ll be checking up for responses throughout the day.

Here are some of the ingredients we have on hand

2 peppers
Frozen broccoli, green beans, or peas
Bag of potatoes
Bag of onions
Rice
Butter
Milk
Peanut Butter
Flour
Sugar
Diced tomatoes
An assortment of beans
Pasta
Apple sauce
Garlic
Oil, Canola, and Vegetable Oil
The most common spices (garlic, onion, oregano, Italian, pepper, cilantro, ect…)


To encourage participation we will post a picture of a chicken skydiving when we get 3 responses. 5 will earn you a picture of a llama parachuting. 10 will get you something even more special. Time is of the essence we beg for your assistance.

How warm is it?

Weather Report

The Midwest recently was the recipient of an arctic cold front bring season low temperatures to many regions. It's times like this the it is beneficial to remember how fortunate we are to have nice furnaces, blankets, coats, and hot coca. Furthermore, we recommend making a cup of coffee and mixing a pack of hot cocoa in with it. It's a sure cure for the blues!

MVS'ers steals local sports opinions and pass them off as their own

What isn't a sure cure for the Blues? More injuries. The team has had four of its six top players injured. This is devastating for a young team that already had questionable depth to begin with. Bottom line is the team has been forced to play players that simply should not be in the highest level of hockey at this point in their lives. Still the the team plays hard and viewing their NHL Hockey matches are generally an enjoyable utilization of time.

Interstate 64/4o closed

A large portion of St. Louis' interstate 64 is under construction and will be for the majority of the coming year. This has made navigating St. Louis slightly more cumbersome for the current MVS'ers. Several roads are much more crowded and much less enjoyable to drive our auto carriage along. The plus side is that it will encourage us to use public transportation more frequently and discover new exciting ways home (sometimes even intentionally).

And now the reason you all read our blog: pictures of dogs pulling decorative carts!

Blueberry Muffins

According to a recent polling of Mennonite Voluntary Service workers in Metropolitan St. Louis blueberry muffins are one of the top muffin choices. Chocolate chip muffins also did well in the poll and garnered support from a variety of demographics. Lemon Poppy finished poorly on the heels after a series of ads linking the muffin to failed drug tests. Representatives of Lemon Poppy seed decried the ads saying that the attack ads were simply trying to distract voters from real issues such as taste and texture. Pumpkin muffins rounded out the top three, confirming what experts had been saying all along, that despite being a healthy and satisfying choice pumpkin too much of a seasonal pastry to win a general election. Despite a poor showing, Bran muffins vowed to be back in the future. In statement release to the press Bran's advisors said, "Sure, Bran might not be a sexy choice like Banana Nut or Cinnamon. It may not have the name recognition of Blueberry. However, we remain confident that a few years down the road people will come to a sudden realization of just how valuable, and ultimately essential, of a choice Bran can be."

Words

As the St. Louis MVS unit boldly looks towards the future we stand united and poised for action. Anyway, it's been good times in St. Louis. Real good times. The writing below has a pattern. See if you can figure it out.

Steve
Saint Louis
Matt Chris Steve
Mennonite Voluntary Service Unit
Attending St. Louis Mennonite Fellowship
Eating Burek at a Bosnian Cafe
Watch the Balloon Glow in Forest Park
Cooking Holiday Feast with the help of friends
Digging a hole at Columbia Peace and Hope Garden
Mediating conflicts with Community Conflict Services of Metropolitan St. Louis
Observing the crew members of Serenity finding their way through space
Planning Restorative Justice Curriculum with Mary, Carrie, Pierre, Ebony, Clark, and Margaret
Seeing a burned Cathedral which was turned into a beautiful work of art
Exploring faith issues with Sam, Rachel, Amy, Jake, Adam, Dan, Heather, Amanda, and Chris
Being thankful for all the people I've meet and experiences I've had in St. Louis

That's all for now. Check back in a couple of months.

Steve

Update on our lives and Such...

So, it's been three months since we moved to St Louis (two months for Chris), and we've made pretty good lives for ourselves in the process. We have been welcomed by our sponsoring church, St Louis Mennonite Fellowship, and it has become a vibrant faith community for the two of us. We have been blessed to be here in their move from the burbs to South City St Louis, just a few blocks from the MVS house. It's really been a formative time for the church and for the two of us as we participate in church life and discern what our role is in this new neighborhood. Chris gave a sermon a few weeks ago on the Greatest Commandment... We don't remember much of what he said, but he did say something about the foundation of faith resting on our capacity to give and receive love. Or something like that...

From tie-dying at the church retreat to carrying a piano and stove up a flight of stairs, we have been encouraged to become a part of what God is doing at SLMF. It has been inspiring to see how enthusiastic members are about sharing their gifts and contributing to the life of the church. There seems to be no spectators at SLMF.
There are a lot of people who know what service is all about. They've been there, and have contributed in their own unique ways to make us feel even more welcome in St Louis.
We have also shared some good times with MVS'ers Dan, Amanda, and Heather. We have grown closer over the past coupla months and they have done a good job of keeping us out of trouble.

We also have a lot of random silly stories...
About a month ago, Steve and Chris saw a poster for a rock show hanging at "The Diner", a 24-hour eating establishment just down the street. The band is called "Kentucky Knife Fight", and a few days later, Steve, Heather, and Chris headed down to the show in Granite City, Illinois. We were enticed by the possibility of appearing in an amateur music video and loads of free pizza. After driving around Middle of Nowhere, Illinois for over an hour, a two story barn and gloriously well lit country mansion surrounded by prodigious pumpkin patch. The barn was filled with black lights, old farming equipment, vintage signs, and other random freaky-deeky Americana nostalgia. The show left nothing to be desired, and after listening to good tunes and eating our fair of free pizza, Heather, Chris, and Steve decided to steal the largest pumpkin in the pumpkin patch (pumpkin picture included).

Oh, and we made an ice cream cake out of whip cream and loads of ice cream sandwiches for our Wednesday night Bible Study. It’s so easy we were able to make it in the car. One of these days, and you know how long it takes us to post anything on this blog… we’ll share this story, and the amazing automotive ice cream cake recipe. Stay tuned.

Chill out!

In all seriousness, we will have a blog post tonight. Now you know we're for real this time...

--Things you might hear about.

--Making ice cream cake in the mvs car.

--Stealing a pumpkin from a rock show.

--Watching Fireflys in November.

--Preaching fire and brimstone at SLMF.

--Election day shindigs and good time merriment.

I know we kept our fans waiting but hold on to your britches cause you are about to experience some turbulence MVS style.

This Blog Has Been Hi-Jacked...

So, it's like this... this blog is now property of the 2008 St Louis Mennonite Voluntary Service. We've taken this thing over with our own reflections, thoughts, and random things of interest we post throughout the year. Don't worry, you still hear about Amanda and Heather, who are just living a few blocks away. We're gonna have to find a new name to call ourselves other than the "Cunit," because even though we are indeed cute, it's just not our style. Not how we roll. But first things first, our bios.

Who are we?!

(Written by Chris Scott)...
Steve Eigsti: Steve is currently working at the Mennonite Peace Center. He grew up in the small town of Buda, Illinois, where nobody knew how to pronounce his last name. However, he felt right at home when he went to Goshen College ("Ike-Stee!"). Steve taught history for a year before coming to MVS. He is a super huge fan of the Chicago Cubs and social justice. It is out of his deep passion for equality and a sense of pity that he roots for such a pathetic baseball team.

(Written by Steve Eigsti)...
Chris Scott: Is from (West by God) Virginia and he will rock you. He likes to eat quesadillas. He is a person of deep religious convictions and an insatiable appetite for salsa. He works to ensure fair housing for all. He is currently co-chairing the Committee to Remove Fruit Flies from our House (or C.2.R.F.F.F.O.H.). Above all, he brings humor and relentless compassion to our Unit and his contributions are greatly valued.

All right, so that's all for now. Look for more posts in the next coupla days. You will not be disappointed.

Well loyal blog readers, we have reached the end of the cyber road. This will be the final virtual word put out by Heather, Amanda and Tiffany. Living together for the past 12 months has been silly, fun, emotional, happy, sad, exciting, boring and, above all, memorable! Sprinkled throughout this blog you will see snapshots from our last full weekend together as we enjoyed the good eatin' of the Eat Rite Diner and our last evening at the Arch together.

Tiffany's Moment
Ah the infamous camping excursion. In late October, the three of us set out to rough it for a few days at a state park about an hour out of St. Louis. Of course, roughing it required two coolers overflowing with food and snacks, about a million blankets and a lot of borrowed camping gear that we had no idea how to use. The weekend is a fantastic memory for all of us. Getting lost on a 1.5 mile hiking trail, failing to ignite our camp fire (don't worry, our camping neighbors came over and doused our "fire" with lighter fluid), attempting to make campfire food (Mmm, burnt potato egg moosh!) and late nights around the smoldering logs we called our campfire talking about all our thoughts, hopes, ideas and adventures.

Amanda's Moment
Nothing says good times like a wild animal in the basement. Who could forget the pigeon in the basement episode. After a night of hearing strange noises coming from our basement, it was time to free whatever creature was bumping around down there. So the three of us plus our friend Clay (you better be reading this from Seattle buddy!) donned hats and gloves, grabbed the nearest weapon (brooms, sticks, tennis rackets) and descended to the basement. There we discovered an entrapped pigeon flying around in a panic. After several minutes of intense chasing, the frightened bird was captured in what could only be described as a miraculous grab by Clay. The bird was set free and the three of us gained a new respect for our bird wrangling friend. (Scroll down our blog to see the original entry of this event!)

Heather's Moment(s)
Always the rebel, Heather had to have two moments. First up, the Christmas letter photo shoot. We decided in early fall to send a Christmas letter and photo to our friends and family since we're probably the cutest VSers ever. So as the leaves were turning, the three of us set out to Tower Grove Park to have Dan (our former housemate) capture us at our most adorable. The photo shoot lasted quite awhile and produced over 200 pictures, 10 of which were mildly acceptable to us. In the end, we had a fantastic Christmas letter and a whole bunch of hilarious pictures to remind us of how photogenic we are.
and a half in that line before we were reunited. The four of us spent the rest of that morning bravely battling lines, traffic and more than a fewNext, black Friday. The three of us had decided to be adventurous and join the throngs of people in search of the best door-busting deals on black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving). We left the house at 3:30 AM, determined to be the most hard-core Holiday shoppers you've ever seen. Like buffalo hunters armed with BB guns, we quickly found ourselves way out of our league. We walked into Kohls at 4:10 AM and found the lines already making their way around the circumference of the store. By the time we were ready to check-out, at about 4:50, the lines circled the outer limits of the building....twice. Our neighbor, Tina, bearing a considerably larger armload than the three of us, bravely volunteered to wait while the three of us explored the next stop on our list of conquests. Tina (bless her sales-driven heart) waited for an hour frightening female elbow-throwers. We went home that day at about 10:30 (do the math, that's 6.5 hours of shopping) with some great buys, great stories and great plans to sleep in next black Friday.

The End...And Beginning
So here we are, bidding you all adieu. VS has been a huge experience for all of us. We can happily set off on our next adventures...

As is consistent with our summer thus far, our schedule this week kept us busy. This week in particular though, we were reminded of why we like St. Louis so much and what makes our community here so special.

The Move
On Thursday, Amanda's friend from home, Chelsea, flew in for a visit. No sooner had she arrived than an opportunity for Amanda and Heather to get free furniture also presented itself. Clay, a good friend of ours, recently moved to Seattle to do VS and before he left, he told Amanda and Heather that he had a plethora of free stuff for them. But since the items (a futon, coffee table, TV, etc.) weren't likely to fit into our little Honda Civic, Amanda and Heather's free stuff sat waiting. However, Thursday night, a truck was offered to them and they took it. And that's how Tiffany, Heather, Amanda and Chelsea ended up in a St. Louis suburb at 9:30 at night, feeling our manliest after hauling and loading furniture for an hour. It was more work than any of us anticipated (especially poor Chelsea who had anticipated a relaxing evening after traveling all day) but we did eventually get everything home. And now, though it looks like our house is an indoor garage sale, Amanda and Heather have a lovely little start for their apartment.

The Weekend
Our weekend was filled with St. Louis classics. We started on Friday with a Muny show which was fantastic and fun. We followed that treat with another: frozen custard from (where else?) Ted Drewes. On Saturday, we took Chelsea to our local farmers market, a great love of ours, and ended the day with a free concert at the Arch. On Sunday, of course, Chelsea got to meet some of St. Louis's finest: the St. Louis Mennonite Fellowship. Our church has been doing summer "Olympics" for the past few weeks and this Sunday the event was giant Dutch Blitz. It was an injury-laden good time. Though the Yellow team triumphed (the Green team however, is in the lead overall) everyone went away smiling...even if they were also limping. We spent Sunday afternoon with friends we invited over for a barbecue lunch and then a movie. We used some of our Ed/Rec money to see "Mamma Mia." Truthfully, our absolute and total elation over the greatness of this movie is just mildly embarrassing. But if you ask us about it, don't mock us for falling in love with this exuberant, flamboyant, brilliant, masterful, beautiful, bubbly movie.

Isn't It Nice?
Yes, our city is great. There are funky little places to eat and play like the City Museum or Blueberry Hill and old classics like the Muny that are always brilliant. But what we like even better than the fun we find in the city, is the family we find every Sunday. We might run into them (literally) during an "Olympic" event, or we might be invited over for dinner during the week. We might discuss church doctrine or social issues in Sunday School or talk about mundane VS financial issues. We might offer to babysit or be offered free furniture. Whether we're sharing their joy, pain, panic or possessions or they're sharing ours, it is the fact that we are together throughout that makes sharing seem natural. And that's what's so nice about St. Louis.

Life Decisions
As we move through decision-making for our post-unit life, there have ups and downs, breakthroughs and breakdowns.

Heather and Amanda
Apartment hunting has taken up a large amount of time for 2/3 of our unit. Amanda and Heather scouted out innumerable apartments, all with differing pros and cons. But after months of hunting and hours of discussions, visits and phone calls, they reached a decision this week. They will be moving into a lovely 2 bedroom, 1 bath apartment just a few blocks from the our unit house. (So for anyone considering MVS in St. Louis, you'll have some great neighbors!) They are very excited for little perks like planting a small garden and owning a pet.

Tiffany
Tiffany continues to be a craigslist junkie as she job hunts for employment in the Corvallis, OR area. She spends a lot of her time communicating with her future room-mates, discussing apartment arrangements and generally expressing her excitement (and fear) for departing from the mid-West.

Our Adventures
The last two weeks have been filled with summer treats (and not just the kind from Ted Drewes). For the Fourth of July, Heather and her friend, Allison, who was visiting from Goshen, headed downtown for the big St. Louis fireworks display. Of course, the fireworks were great, the crowds however, were not. Heather determined that watching the downtown fireworks is a once in a lifetime experience...as in, to be experienced ONCE in a lifetime.
Tiffany and Amanda enjoyed a more low-key celebration with a small gathering of friends from church followed by watching (from a distance) a suburban St. Louis fireworks display.
Other fun activities have been seeing free musicals at an outdoor amphitheater, taking walks through the park on sunny evenings and doing lots of grilling.

Summer is no time to hesitate. Have an adventure before it gets too cold to feel adventurous. Happy summer!

I think it's safe to say that summer has rendered the three of us blog-slobs. Fun to say but bad for us as we try to recap the hectic events of the last couple of weeks.

Together:
We enjoyed Shakespeare in the Park about two weeks ago. This year it was The Tragedy of King Richard the Third. While Heather and Amanda struggled through the last long hours (yes, hours) of Shakespearian lingo, Tiffany admittedly was swept away by the magic of the outdoor theatre.
The Botanical Gardens (a few blocks from our house) hosts free outdoor music every Wednesday during the summer. So we packed ourselves a nice little hummus dinner and headed out to hear the jazzy sounds of local artist, Erin Bode. It was a beautiful evening and we would highly recommend catching a few of Erin's tunes.
Another highlight of the last few weeks was the Ladies Tea Party at church. All the women and girls at the church were invited for an evening of little sandwiches and fancy tea cups followed by a mystery wedding dress fashion show. Several women volunteered to model wedding dresses donated by women from the church. The goal, then, was to guess whose dress was whose. Tea, ruffles and friendly female faces. Good times.

On Our Own:
Tiffany spent June 16-20 speaking at a youth camp in Minnesota. The week was a bit stressful but overall a fantastic success. It was an absolutely beautiful week in the land of 10,000 lakes and it was a bit hard to return to the hustle and bustle of the big city after spending so much time on the edge of the lake.

Amanda spent June 20-29 at home in Virgina spending time with her entire family. The week included many exciting nights of games, connections with friends, quality time in conversation and other thrilling endeavors such as car shopping and buying.

This week, Heather is entertaining her friend Allison. On the horizon are St. Louis tours, trips to Ted Drewes and 4th of July fireworks downtown.

Today is July 1. The first day of our last full month as a unit. Tiffany and Amanda's terms end August 20th and 22nd. Naturally, a lot of our time has been spent making plans for life after 3522 Wyoming (our address for those of you not in the know). Tiffany is moving to Corvallis, OR with her sister and friends from college so she has been knee-deep in resumes, applications and apartment hunting (not easy from several hundred miles away). Heather and Amanda are busily gathering items for their future apartment together in St. Louis. After 10 months as a unit, life after seems like a strange, exotic world. And while an end is always hard, the three of us are ready and willing to reenter the world of paychecks and personal ownership.

The things we did...

Our highlights this week begin with a 2 hour "Saved by the Bell" marathon. Being the ultra hip lady she is, Heather checked out a whole season of the show on Friday and we proceded with a hardcore 80's binge. Good times. Good stone-washed jeans.

Next up, the BIG one. The day we've been looking forward to for weeks, months. The Sex and City Movie premiere. What reason would Tiffany have to go out in public with a bear mid-driff and leopard print pants? Well, we decided that instead of just seeing the movie, we would become a part of the drama. So Tiffany (Samantha), Amanda (Carrie), Heather (Charlotte), along with our friend Rachel (Miranda) thoroughly enjoyed a night of drama, beauty and friendship.

Last was an evening of fun and friendship on Sunday. For young audlt Bible study, we had a game night in honor of our friend Joycelyn's last Bible study. Before she leaves St. Louis in search of wide open spaces, we decided to have a last evening of good times. Vigorous rounds of catch phrase were played and no small amount of food consumed. We like friends.

Though the last few weeks have felt stressful for some of us, there's always something to remind us that we often take ourselves too seriously. Our panic, our stress, our general need to organize and fit all things into a neat little life. It's exhausting and, if we're honest, never really effective. So when you feel that tinge of worry, that pinch of distress because life is not ordering itself according to plan, find yourself some leopard-print pants and note the people's faces as you pass by. Watch some "Saved by the Bell" and think back to when getting your bangs high enough was a major concern. Remember that if you've loved someone, laughed with someone and found a moment to appreciate something mundane, you've lived a good day. And even though your problems will still be around, they'll probably be a lot more fun to deal with the voice of Screech in the back of your head.