Valdez Family

Toby and Brenda Valdez are two very good friends of ours. At one time we were going to the same church and working with the youth group together. That's actually how our friendship started. They have two wonderful kids, Drayton and Kanzy. Brian and I love these kids. We like to hang out with all of them. Brian, Toby, and Drayton usually like to play video games. Sometimes the kids like to color or watch movies. Brenda and I like to talk. I'm really glad they're friends with us.

ReThink

ReThink is a blog by Toby Valdez, a good friend of Brian and me. He mostly writes about his thoughts and experiences in church. There's a link to his blog. Check out what he's got to say.

Spring Break '06

This past week was spring break for me and Brian. I have been looking forward to this week because I feel like I've been driving all the time and working so hard. We went to Brian's grandparents' house in Checotah. While we were there we went frog hunting. Brian's grandparents live outside of Checotah and they have four ponds on their land. In the past I might get a good catch of six, but this time I caught 25! Brian helped me spot them and then I would catch them with my net. I really needed to collect more frogs because my procedures messed up the frog skin I already had.
We had a good time and I don't want to go back to school on Monday!

Driving--Roadside Memorials

I thought I could write about something that I do often--driving. This semester I am driving almost every school day to Wichita Falls. This is about 3 hours out of my day. In previous semesters I was usually driving between 2-4 days a week. Then before going to Wichita Falls, I was attending Cameron University in Lawton. This is about an hour drive. So I've been driving a lot for the last 6 years. At one time I thought I might just quit school and become a truck driver!
Driving is not so interesting most of the time, so I try to make it interesting. I listen to music, talk radio (usually preachers), look around at different things and do a lot of thinking. I thought maybe I will show things I see while I'm driving and tell you what I think about it. Then you all can let me know what you think.
First I want to talk about "roadside memorials." These are the crosses and such that you might see on the side of the road that show someone died at that spot. Sometimes the crosses have names on them and/or pictures, and sometimes they don't have anything. At times someone puts flowers, wreaths, or ribbons on the cross. I suppose this happens around the time of the anniversary of the person's death.
On the way to Beaumont, Texas I saw two large crosses with a smaller one in front. I felt a little squeeze on my heart when I saw that.
I wondered before if these roadside memorials were something that only Oklahomans and Texans do, but recently I heard a Christian song that mentions these types of crosses. I call them "roadside memorials." I don't know if this is the proper wording, but I've never heard anyone else talk about them.
I've often wondered when I see them as I'm driving, "Why are they there?" I guess they are there for the loved ones left behind, sort of like a grave marker. A place to go visit where it's okay to cry and talk to the deceased person and remember them.
Or could they be also for other people that pass by on the highway? Maybe they show us how fragile life is, and the crosses are there to remind those of us driving on the road that life is so important. Although sometimes they remind me of living, most times they remind me of death. I remember those loved ones I've lost. Especially I think of my friend Amber who died in a car accident on the highway to Altus back from Lawton. I think about her other times, and honestly I don't like being reminded of her death when I'm driving down the road.
I've also thought of the roadside memorials as warnings crying out to me, "Be careful! Don't add your cross to this highway!"
Well, I guess I may be a sad type, or realist type, of person, and I've thought, "What if I did get into an accident and die on the highway? Would I want a roadside memorial?" The answer is a certain "No." I don't want a cross on the side of the road so that people can wonder, "Who died there?" I don't want anyone to put flowers and ribbons on it. (That's littering!!) And I especially wouldn't want anyone to forget about my cross...let it fall down and become faded like the cross that I took a picture of on the side of the road by the Red River. The cross has fallen over, and it has no name... just a picture of a rainbow with a white dove and what looks like a bundle of wheat. It has been lying over on its side since I've been driving by it for the past 3 years.
Well, are there these kinds of roadside memorials anywhere else? Have you seen any? What do you think about them?

Armadillo

The other day we had an armadillo come to our backyard. It walked around our car and tried to even get under our fence. I had never seen one this close up before. I thought it was cute in the face with its beady little eyes and cute ears. It's ears looked like a little rabbit's ears, only not as fuzzy.
FYI, armadillos are mammals even though they look a little scaly. If you have ever seen one dead with its feet sticking up in the air, then you probably saw the hair on its belly--Yep, it's a mammal! They do have small eyes with poor eyesight. They rely on their great sense of smell. They dig in the ground for their food. Their body temperature is lower than ours so they can carry leprosy. They get it from digging because leprosy is found in the soil.
Another interesting fact about armadillos is that they recently migrated up from South/Central America. The first armadillo in southwest Oklahoma was seen sometime around 1970. They do not like cold weather and are able to live here because our winters have been getting milder through the years.
Something kind of funny about armadillos: Since armadillos don't like cold weather, they are not usually seen in the winter and come back out in the spring. Most people don't see armadillos except as roadkill. Instead of watching the groundhog and his shadow to find out if winter will stay or spring will come, Oklahomans watch for the first roadkill armadillo. This is a sure sign that spring is on the way!

TAS Meeting

This past weekend I went to a Texas Academy of Science (TAS) meeting in Beaumont, TX. As you can see we had a good time. At this meeting I go to several research presentations. I hear about the research other scientists are doing and I keep up with new things. Next year I will be presenting my research.
The first picture shows (left to right) Karen (a former graduate of MSU), Dr. Scales (professor), Dr. Cook (professor and chair of the biology department), Dr. Rincon (professor and graduate coordinator), and Dr. Horner (professor and dean of college of science and math). This picture was taken the first night we arrived. There is a social mixer to meet other people who came to the meeting. The second picture is of Dr. Scales and me at the awards banquet on Friday night.
The third picture is of Bikash and Clinton. Bikash is another graduate student and he works with me in the Botany labs. Clinton is an undergraduate and he also works in Dr. Rincon's lab.
the next picture is Sam and me enjoying ourselves before the banquet. Then you can see me with the other girls that went on the trip. From left to right is Deyo, Junie, Jendayi, me, and Sam. All of these girls are graduate students and TA's.
The last picture is of Lance, another graduate student and TA.