I ate CRAWFISH!

Don't get too hasty on calling my work 'success' yet. We were dropped by Jackie on Monday. She was our only investigator, and actually I must admit that I'm totally okay with it. There were too many questions concerning her accountability and sanity to really be upset. Dropping us isn't the best for her, I don't think, but it does aleviate a problem for us.

That puts us back to square one. We have no investigators, but we are still trying to work with less actives. We had one come to church yesterday. Ralph's been inactive for about sixty years I guess, and now he's getting ready to quit this life for the next. But first he needs to set things right, which is where we come in. I love Ralph. We go visit him once a week at his nursing home and have lunch and sing with him to his guitar. Some of the other residents join in and they love it.

My plans for the fourth are set. We're having Zone Leader Council that day, which I attend as the companion of a training sister. I'll be that we're going to have a jolly good time. Before that we're going to the ward breakfast to have pancakes and sausage. Then we have a dinner appointment that night with the first councilor's family which will be a BBQ southern style, no doubt! I'm excited.

It's interesting to be here in Louisiana for the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. I don't know that people really realize its significance, but I've been thinking about it a lot lately. If I'm not mistaken, our national anthem is a product of that war. Louisiana plays a role in that war, and here I am. I feel like on some parallel plane of existence, that war is playing out again and again, and I can feel it. The Battle of New Orleans looms, and I won't actually be here to relive it. I'm hoping to see some fireworks this year. Don't lose the dogs!

I haven't had lasagna for a while, thank goodness. Prayer works!

Speaking of patriotism, this is the first primary in which I don't get to participate. I was so bummed when I got Mom's package. It was too late to send in my vote. For November you'll need to send it the day you get it, so I can get my vote in. However, I did appreciate getting the Saturday's Warrior soundtrack as well as Mom's letters.

I'm not getting mail anymore. I haven't gotten anything in a week now. This is good because I have a lot of letter writing to catch up on. This is bad because it means I've been out long enough to be considered dead to the world. I'm going to try to write Mom today if I can. Tell her I love her, and I'm sorry I don't write once a week! We only get eight hours a week to relax and get stuff done, and the last thing I like to do is write the same thing over and over. Then again... the only other option is to watch the elders play basketball. Boring.

Anyway... not much else is new. I'm going to a funeral on Saturday in New Orleans for the brother of one of our members. He was shot seven times in the head last week. That's normal around here. Can you believe that's normal? It's a wonder that none of us ever gets into trouble.

Oh yeah, so my new companion Sister Price is cool. She's a great missionary; very motivated, diligent, and focused. We talk in accents most of the time, and we try to have fun even though we have a lot of slow days and don't see much fruit. Still, we work hard. Too hard. I want to sleep in so bad. I will be sleeping a lot when I get home.

I hope Lacey gets to find a job. What is she doing in the meantime? What are the boys up to? I was thinking the other day that it'd be funny if Dad showed up to Baton Rouge and pretended to be interested in the Church. I wonder how long we'd be able to hold character? Don't do it, really, but it'd be funny.

Can you send me pictures of the dogs and the progress on the house? I need things to look at. What's going on in the world?

I don't know if I've sent these, but these are the recent pictures I've taken. I don't take pictures well, but... yeah. Maybe I'll get around to taking one of myself. Probably not.

The cat on the statue I love. We go running in the morning and that cat is always standing there. I suspect that that fountain is the fountain of youth, and that cat is its guardian. If I get the guts to try it, I'll report back.

The other pictures are of a crawfish boil. Yes, I ate those bugs. I'm so over bugs, it's not even funny. They're everywhere all the freaking time. I've had flying maggots attack me, I've had June bugs attack me, and I've seen dried up godzilla bugs that have a name but I don't know what it is sitting around in the most random places. They're everywhere. Whatever.

Then I went to the zoo. There's a lovely picture of a white peacock. I haven't ever seen one, so I thought it was a worthy animal to capture on camera. The other picture is of a sign in the bathroom comparing the pro's and con's of various methods of drying your hands. Conclusion? WIPE THEM ON YOUR CLOTHES! Take that, Moms Across America! I will continue to not waste time in front of a falsely advertised bacon receival unit (ask TJ if that goes over your head), continue to not waste paper, and proudly wear wet handprints on my belly or knees out of the bathroom for the rest of my life!

That's all. Gotta go. Love you lots!