DUG 2012

On Sunday, April 1st I headed back to Washington DC for the 2012 DUG Conference. This year was extra because Dan was able to join me!

SIDE NOTE:
Dan found out in early March that his employer was unable to renew his contract due to lack of funding -- meaning, he would be out of a job at the beginning of April. We knew that this was a possibility, so he started job searching months ago. Once the possibility became an unfortunate reality, Dan became much more aggressive in his job search. Since his job search wasn't producing any job opportunities, Dan decided to join me in Washington DC.

Since Dan was a last-minute addition, he used Priceline to get a discount on his airfare. Thankfully, he was able to get a fabulous deal! I think his round trip ticket was only $8 more than mine -- and I purchased mine (via work) over a month before Dan. However, we weren't on the same flights or even using the same airline. Dan landed in Washington DC just before I started boarding my flight. Although, it was pretty cool having Dan waiting for me at the gate when I arrived -- which is virtually unheard of these days.

Later that evening I attended the fabulous Welcome Party at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center (where the conference was taking place and, also, where we were staying for the duration of our trip). This year's theme was in honor of the beautiful cherry blossoms -- which bloomed early this year, so we missed them.

Monday, April 2nd Dan took a hotel shuttle to downtown DC and spent the day sight-seeing. He has never been to DC before, so everything was new and certainly exciting to him. I had sessions all day, but we got to spend the evening together while we took a night tour of downtown Washington DC! It was really beautiful seeing the monuments all lit up.

Even at 10:00 p.m. the monuments were very crowded with tourists. The heavy volume of tourists was mainly because of the numerous school field trips.

On Tuesday, April 3rd our keynote speaker for the conference was JR Martinez! He delivered a very inspirational message to thousands of DUG attendees -- and I was lucky to be in the 4th row, center. He is an excellent public speaker and fabulous storyteller. I enjoyed his presentation very much!

Later that day, once I was done with my sessions, I met up with Dan -- who slept-in and bummed around the hotel. Together we went back to downtown DC to see some more sights and museums.

Once again, it was crowded downtown. Ford's Theatre was completely sold out! I was pretty bummed about that. I've been inside before, but hoped to see inside once more. I guess not this time.

The crowds were everywhere! We had to wait about 40 minutes to get into the National Archives. It was hot in the sun, so Dan found a nearby ice cream truck and bought us some ice cream. All of the museums have metal detectors, but upon entering the National Archives, your bags must also be sent through an x-ray machine.

Later that evening I attended DUG's "Be True to Your School" party -- an evening for DUG attendees to wear t-shirts, hoodies, hats, etc to represent the school you work for. This year it was a carnival theme. This fabulous party featured carnival games, balloon animals, stuffed animal prizes, popcorn, cotton candy... the works! Dan was all cozy in bed while I went to the party. He was still up when I got back -- I didn't stay very late.

On Wednesday, April 4th Dan got picked up by the airport shuttle at 4:00 a.m. Yikes! He landed in Chicago before my alarm went off. I know this because his "I'm home" text woke me up. Ha ha! That morning I went to a few more sessions before heading home, myself.

Apparently the conference will not be in Washington DC next year. I'm glad Dan got to come with me this time so he could experience Washington DC at least once.

NEW! Something from Jessie Website

I am so excited to announce that Something from Jessie has a brand new website!

Something from Jessie is a memorial scholarship which was created in memory of Jessica Troyer. Each year we hold a fundraiser at Jessie's home church (Parker Road Bible Church) to raise funds that send Chicago inner city students to Phantom Ranch Bible Camp in Mukwonago, Wisconsin - the same camp Jessie and I attended as a campers and worked as summer staff.

God has blessed this fundraiser in more ways than we can count! Each and every year the fundraiser gets bigger and better and I have no doubt that the tradition will continue this year as well.

Our annual (free!) spaghetti dinner will take place on Friday, June 1st, 2012, at Parker Road Bible Church. Check out our website for more information and be sure to "like" Something from Jessie on Facebook for your chance to win exclusive door prizes at this year's dinner.

While the spaghetti dinner rapidly approaches, I do have one favor to ask... please pray for us! Pray for the folks who will be planning and organizing the dinner. Pray for the volunteers who will be helping us. Pray for the guests who will be attending. Pray for the students who will be going to camp through this scholarship. Pray for the weather. Pray for the food and door prize donations. Pray for the scholarship donations. Pray! Pray! Pray! It is what keeps this fundraiser so successful. If our God is for us, then who could stand against us?

Blue Like Jazz (The Movie)

On Thursday, March 1st I found free tickets to see an advance screening of the movie Blue Like Jazz. A couple of years ago Dan and I read the book with our church's Young Adult group. We really enjoyed the book and so we thought it would be fun to see the movie! Our friends, Jason and Rachel, also read the book with us, so they joined us.

On Thursday, March 15th the four of us met up just outside the AMC Showplace in Naperville. It was about 5:00 pm, and we had an hour until the "event" started, so we went to Houlihan's for dinner. Honestly, we chose Houlihan's because it was gorgeous outside and it was virtually the only place that had outdoor seating - other than sushi.

At about 6:00 pm we started walking towards the movie theater. It was then that we noticed a Blue Like Jazz van/tour bus.

"Let's ask someone to take our picture in front of the bus!" I suggested.

So we did just that. We strolled up to the tour bus and asked a young roadie to snap a quick photo of us in front of the tour bus. He was super friendly and took his time setting us up for a nice photo. After we thanked the guy for taking our photo, Rachel asked what "event" was scheduled to take place before the screening.

"Oh, Donald Miller (the book's author), Steve Taylor (the movie director), and Marshall Allman (the lead actor, playing Donald Miller) are here and will do a meet and greet with the audience before the movie. They'll also do some Q and A after the movie."

WHAT?!?

We were all pleasantly surprised to hear that they were all just inside the tour bus, chillin'... just waiting to come out and meet their fans. Needless to say, we hung around the tour bus and several minutes later we weren't the only ones.

At about 6:30 Donald, Steve, and Marshall stepped out and got ready to meet their fans. Right away, Steve stepped up to me, held out his hand, and politely introduced himself, "Hi, I'm Steve. Would you like a Twizzler?" Sure enough, he handed me a single, wrapped Twizzler. His jacket was loaded with Twizzlers and he handed them out to everyone! Donald and Marshall also took the time to meet and greet our fabulous foursome.

"How about a picture?" Donald asked with a cheerful smile. Naturally, we jumped at the opportunity to snap a picture with all three guys.

I couldn't help but feel unprepared as I held out my ticket (which was a black and white email printed out on plain paper) and asked Donald to sign it. Still, I was grateful to have something for him to sign.

Rachel and Jason recognized Marshall from the TV show, True Blood. So I snapped a picture of them just with Marshall. Marshall is no longer on True Blood, but he told us to watch for him on Justified.

Later, as the guys continued to meet and greet their fans (handing out Twizzlers every step of the way), I noticed a fan holding a 4x6 postcard with a picture of the movie poster on it. As he walked my way I asked him where he got it.

"They had some of these inside the theater," he politely explained. "Would you like him to sign it? You can have it."

I smiled and thanked him for the postcard. Rachel the proceeded to locate one for herself. Then we went back and asked all three guys for an autograph - which they were pleased to do so. After Rachel and I got our autographs we met up with Dan and Jason, who were waiting in a long line, to go into the theater.

Upon entering the theater we received a bag of goodies (fliers and information about the movie and other projects that they were supporting) as well as a survey to fill out after the movie. The theater was packed!

Now, if you are expecting a Christian movie like Fireproof or Courageous (both good movies), you're probably going to be disappointed. Blue Like Jazz portrays a very realistic lifestyle of a young man who goes away to Reed College to basically run away from God. Reed College is one of the most godless colleges in existence. It is a college where people go to express their desires and beliefs, but being Christian is certainly not acceptable. There is plenty of drinking, drugs, and partying to earn a solid PG-13 rating. While the language gets a bit edgy (you'll hear at least one of every swear at least once, minus the f-bomb), I still think that the true image of Reed College is much more godless than what was portrayed. The foul language wasn't extreme by any means, but it was certainly enough to get their point across.

After reading the book, the movie is just what I expected and I sincerely enjoyed it. Much like the book, the movie doesn't sugarcoat how real life can be when you're trying to escape God. Doing things you wouldn't normally do... saying things you wouldn't normally say... all in the process of trying to figure out how you can push God out of your life. Not everyone has gone to such extreme measures as Donald Miller, but I'm sure at one point in your life you rebelled against God because you weren't sure what you believed.

While some details were modified for the movie, the overall story is true and very powerful. Ultimately, this movie is good for people of all ages - well, 13 and up anyway. We may try and try and try to run our lives without God, even to the point of really pushing Him away, but He'll still be there... following you. Waiting... waiting for you to come back to Him.

I'm not going to share the ending, but I'll say this much... it's fantastic and it leaves Christians with a strong challenge. A challenge that may even be difficult for even strong Christians to accept. It's a challenge I would like to incorporate into my testimony when I share with unbelievers.

PS - This is my 200th blog post! Woohoo!

Viggle

I think it was the beginning of February when I first heard about Viggle - thanks to the DJs on WBGL, during my morning drive to work. It's a free iPod/iPhone app that gives you rewards for watching television. I'll admit, I was a little skeptical at first. It all seemed too easy and the rewards appear to be ones I wouldn't mind getting.

Dan and I decided to put it to the test. We each downloaded the app, opened accounts and started earning points by watching bonus videos (commercials and trailers) and checking in to television shows that we were watching. The points added up faster than we thought and in a matter of a week I had enough points to purchase a $25 Amazon gift card (rewards vary from week to week). I redeemed my points for the gift card and we used it to purchase Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy Combo Pack). We found the combo pack on sale for about $22.50 and got free, 2-day delivery thanks to Dan's Prime membership. In about 24 hours the movie arrived and we paid nothing out of pocket! Plus, we even have some money left over to go towards something else. Score!

A few weeks ago Dan and I spent a few points to get $5 coupons for Papa John's pizza. Once again, the coupons worked and we had a delicious, cheap dinner! With leftovers!

The only thing that I discovered is that I've never gotten the codes emailed to me, like the apps says. So don't worry if you never get codes emailed to you, they're always accessible from your app.

I figure I would give this app a true test before I started sharing it with family and friends. Now that I have exprienced the ups and downs of Viggle, I'm still watching bonus videos and checking in to the shows that I watch to earn more points. Everybody watches television... you might as well get rewarded!

The Amazon gift card isn't available right now, but once it comes back, Dan and I will be ready!

Happy Leap Day!

Sadly, it has been a while since I've posted an update, but I am pleased to announce that I am finally playing catch up! Look below and you'll even see a few photos that I've added to my Housewarming Party II post.

You may not always notice a new blog post, but if you go to my Picture of the Day section you'll find a photos and "mini blogs" to go with each photo. I'm better at updating my Picture of the Day section when the photos are taken with mine or Dan's phone - because then I just email them to myself. If I take a photo with an actual camera... well, then things get delayed because I have to upload the pictures to my computer first. I don't know why, but I have been such a slacker at uploading photos onto my computer from my camera(s).

Anyway, today we get to have an extra day in the year! Woohoo! The weather outside is gorgeous! Maybe spring will be here a lot faster than usual? I sure hope so! Well, no matter, I hope you make the most of this extra day in 2012!

Where I Belong

There is this new song by Building 429 that has been on "repeat" inside my head for several weeks now. Every time it gets played on the radio I crank it up and don't hold back while I sing along.

This is a song that I wish I had written. The lyrics move me to tears (joyful tears!) when I am caught up in worship. If you've put your faith is Jesus Christ, I'm sure you'll connect with this song.

Click the link below to listen to the song and view the lyrics:

"Where I Belong" by Building 429

Housewarming Party II

REWIND! I'm going to take a step back in time and blog about mine and Dan's second housewarming party.

On Saturday, January 28th Dan and I had our second housewarming party. The guest list consisted mostly of camp friends and co-workers.

That morning, Dan and I went to Corner Bakery to enjoy a free breakfast panini. Certainly not a bad way to start the day. After that we made a quick stop at the mall and later went home to set up for our party.

The party got started at 5:00 p.m. that evening. The whole house was clean and the food was ready. Our first guests arrived shortly after 5:30 and after that we had a nice, steady flow of friends joining our party.

Dan and I seem to take turns giving the official house tour this time around - somehow it ended up being mostly my job at our last party. Once again, it was so nice to have so many loved ones in our home at once.

Not sure how this happened (again!), but I completely forgot about photos! Thankfully, Kaylin pulled out her camera so we could get a photo just before her and Sarah left. That was when it hit me... I haven't been taking photos! Gah! Where has my head gone? From that moment on I grabbed Dan's point and shoot camera and started snapping photos like crazy! Not all of our guests were still there, but at least I got some of them. I'll update this post with photos - once I put them on my computer.

Our last six guests left at about 1:00 a.m. It was an evening full of laughs and fantastic memories! Shame it had to end so early. ;)

UPDATE: Here are some photos from our second housewarming party (finally!).