More Life Planning

For the last few months, I've been composing a list of names for my children.

This is not weird.

I think....

Girls:

Hadassah~nickname--Haddie (Esther's jewish name and, for all you Francine Rivers fans, the main character in one of the best books ever.)

Blue (Although, I'm not sure how to spell it. "Blu" maybe? And yes, another book character name)

Anne

Boys:

Matthew

Jeremiah

Adam

Atticus

Moses

Middle Names:

Aslan

Atticus (either a first name or a middle name)

Moses (same as above)

Lucy

This is a working progress. It'll be far longer in the future I assume.

Kenya Believe It!?

During our Religious Studies class today, our prof, Dr. Lee, brought a friend to come and lead class, Dr. Omedi Ochieng.

As he walked in, the first thing that crossed my mind was "Oh! He's from Kenya (I could just tell. Don't ask...)! I hope he has an accent". Honestly.

I. Got. My. Wish.

And I have never been so attentive in class in my LIFE. I was hanging on his every word as he described his life in Kisumu, Kenya; his education at a Christian university in Nairobi; and his education at a school in Ohio where he got his Masters and Doctorate degrees; and many other interesting topics in a very thick Kenyan accent.

After class, I went to go talk with him to hear more about his life in Kenya as he suggested. He asked me if I had ever been to Africa and upon my telling him that I am going to Ethiopia in June or July and that I fully intend to live in either Ethiopia or Kenya post graduation as a missionary, he got very excited and asked me other questions (in his Kenyan accent, might I add). I told him that I am going to be taking Swahili (as soon as I can afford it!) and he taught me my favorite verse in Swahili (yeremia ishrini na tisa nambari kumi na moja) and complemented my pronunciation and accent.

I almost died.

Right there and then.

In case you are wondering, I fully plan to marry a Kenyan (or Ethiopian, for that matter) man. He can read Redeeming Love aloud to me. Favorite book + husband with stunning accent reading it out loud = one very happy Margie.

(You're welcome for the punny title, by the way.)

Missing!

Missing:

One Betta Fish.

Left in a Tupperware "hospital tank" thingy after obtaining an injury. Tupperware thingy had black rocks and faux blue seaweed in it.

Gone missing approximately 25 hours ago.

Betta fish is about two inches tall and weighs about 3 ounces. Has black eyes and a blue and salmon body. He is injured from a fight and couldn't have gone far. Fins are damaged and need to be returned to the "hospital tank" ASAP. Responds to the name "Hagrid".

If found, please contact:

Margie Hausam

Westmont College

MS #1645

955 La Paz Rd

Santa Barbara, CA 93108

(Okay, people. This is no joke! I came back to Westmont from visiting home and my roommate, Emily, asked me if I took Hagrid with me. No, I didn't, of course. We searched the whole room thinking that maybe the "hospital tank" cover had slipped out and he jumped out to kill himself--Bettas do that when they are injured--, but no Hagrid. He is nowhere to be found! We were wondering.....maybe someone took a fish? An injured fish? Not the beautiful, healthy Betta, Haiku, swimming in the huge tank? Not the skittish, but entertaining goldfish, Hunamed, swimming in the other tank? Not the African Dwarf Frog, Harper, swimming in yet another tank? But the injured Betta healing in a Tupperware dish? I dunno....)

The Giraffe Test

My grandmother sent this to me a while back. I thought it was hysterical! Also, I epically failed this test. Try it and see how you do!

1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?
(stop and think before you scroll down.)












The correct answer is: Open the fridge, put in the giraffe, and close the door. Duh.

This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.


2. How do you put an elephant into a fridge?





Did you say "open the fridge, put in the elephant, and close the door."?

Wrong answer....

















The correct answer is: Open the fridge, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant, and close the door.

This one tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions.


3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend....except for one. Which animal doesn't attend??













Correct Answer: The elephant. The elephant is in the fridge. You just put him there. Remember?!

This one also tests your memory.

Okay, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to redeem yourself. Pressure's on.

4. There is a river you must cross, but it is manifested with hungry crocodiles and you don't have a boat. How do you manage it?




When I asked my brother, Ricker, he answered: You go in the fridge.
Um, wrong answer. But good try!









The correct answer is: You jump into the river and swim across. Have you not been paying attention!? All the crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting!

This one tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.

Did you get it right?

According to Anderson Consulting Worldwide, around 90% of the professionals that they tested got all the questions wrong, but most preschoolers that they tested got the majority of the questions correct!

Happy Birthday!

My birthday was so much fun!! Here are some pictures:

My darling roommate, Meg, made me a brownie/ chocolate and vanilla frozen yogurt/ Lucky Charms/ "happy birthday" stick-figure man dessert. I did not eat it all...I had help. It was good!
I woke up, on my birthday morning, to find these Sticky Notes on my bed from Darling Meg.

(The last one says "Enjoy today! Love, Meg.")

I found this little beauty one my door. Kind of a funny inside joke--there is an IT guy whose name is Gaston. I was joking with my friend asking if he was dashing and cute. She said "A little ", so we looked him up on FaceBook. He's a body builder. Now you get it?


My amazing RA, Rhianna, left these notes for me on the mirrors:

(2C is my section in my dorm, FYI)
Mikela made me delicious brownies! And I found about 15 different notes left on my desk.My parents sent me some balloons!
Dr. Lee didn't even know it was my birthday, but class outside on the grass was a birthday present in my opinion. And, for the record, this picture was taken during our five minute break.

My amazing neighbors, Anna and Heather, threw a surprise tea party for me! Compete with scones, chai tea, Mad Gab, tons of friends, and laughter.The amazing hosts:
So. Stinkin'. Fun!

The following night, a group of about ten of us went to go see "The Help". If you haven't seen it, go see it!! I've seen it twice and I LOVE it. So good.

Plus, 112 people wrote on my FaceBook wall and I got 23 "Happy birthday!!" texts and one "17 Things I Love About Margie" text. I thought I might add.

Overall, I had a pretty darn great day!

20 Things to Do Before I Am 20

Happy birthday to me!

As a birthday present to myself (and to you really), I wrote a list of 20 things to do before I'm 20--idea credited to Allison Hibbard. You can read her blog here.

These are my goals:

1. Visit Africa at least 2 times.

2. Lose 25 pounds.

3. Run a half marathon.

4. Read over 150 books.

5. Go to 6 different countries.

6. Read the entire Bible.

7. Get a tattoo (You can read about it here)

8. Pierce my nose--yep! I want a tattoo and a pierced nose. Aren't I a rebel?

9. Learn to play an instrument of the orchestra (excludes piano and guitar).

10. Learn to sight-sing written music.

11. Compete in a Polo match (the Prince William kind).

12. Buy my own car.

13. Preform in at least 2 musicals.

14. Make and eat an entirely homegrown salad.

15. Record an album (over 10 songs) even it's never released.

16. Become scuba certified.

17. Sponsor 4 children. One in Ethiopia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Uganda.

18. Defeat my mother in a game of "Words with Friends". (This may sounds stupid, but believe me....she kicks butt.)

19. Memorize 10 Bible verses.

20. Collect all 50 state quarters from scratch. My parents did this like 3 years ago. My turn!

I am 16 Going on 17

Tomorrow is my birthday. I will be 17.

In addition to a new age, something else will be new this year--how I celebrate my birthday.

Before: I'd wake up with a family member bouncing on my bed, whether that be my dog or a human family member, I don't know. It changes.

Now: My alarm on my iPhone screams "WAKE UP!! Time for your 8:00 class! Get moving!".

Before: I'd sit down to a delicious breakfast prepared by one of my parents. I could even request something.

Now: The Dining Commons. Good old cereal.

Before: We'd go do something fun for the whole day--Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, San Diego Zoo, the Getty, etc.

Now: Classes until late afternoon and my Disneyland pass expired.

Before: Family dinner complete with birthday cake, ice cream of my choice, presents, and singing.

Now: The DC. Good ol' meatloaf.

Before: Bedtime at a reasonable hour after dessert.

Now: Bedtime whenever I want after I watch an R rated movie, of course. 'Cause I can.

Before: I'd pretty much be queen for the day.

Now: Professors always reign supreme.

Before: I could do almost anything I wanted.

Now: I could do the same, but my grades would suffer badly.

Before: I was under my parents' wings.

Now: I'm flying (close to--not paying for very much) solo.

Will I do something fun? I hope so! But studying for those exams on Friday comes first.

In case you are wondering, I will blow out candles. Imaginary ones--no candles allowed on campus. My wish will probably be this: Good grades and that people will stop "YOU'RE HOW OLD!?"ing when someone tells them my age (I stopped this about the first hour at Westmont. The first time it's SO much fun to get that reaction, but by the 100th time, I'm done.)

I'm not complaining, it's just a new and foreign phase of my life. The phase in which one transfers into the life of a grown adult. But that's for next year--the adultness. And I definitely have already planned my 18th birthday.

Are You My Mother?

During orientation, Westmont had a meeting solely for the Page Hall girls (my dorm, FYI). In this meeting, our RD, Shannon, confronted the issue of husband hunting--something all of us girls have been tempted to do--that includes me.

I mean, it is very likely I will meet my Prince Charming (or my Michael Hosea for all you Redeeming Love fans) here despite the terrible 2:1 ratio of girls to guys. My parents met here. My friend's parents met here. It's very likely! So likely, in fact, that it has been hard for me to not look at any random guy and think to myself "Are you my husband?" despite the fact that I'm so not boy-crazy or terribly interested in a boyfriend currently. I kinda feel like the baby bird in the book Are You My Mother?.

Shannon made an excellent point during that meeting, "Girls, you may not meet your husbands here, but you will meet some of your bridesmaids."

Great. Now every time I look at my suite-mates, I think "Are you my bridesmaid?".