New Years Eve - Reflection

Tonight is New Years Eve, so I believe many of you may be wondering what will be happening to the "365 Blog" in the new year.

Well first, it is not finished. According to Jon I have 39 more blog posts to go to catch up, so the blog will continue on a nigh-daily basis until I have caught up on my promise.

After that - who knows? I aim to blog regularly, hopefully at least weekly, however can make no promises.

Because, if there's anything I have learned from this blog, it's "Aim High, and you'll get alot of practice jumping high, missing, and then jumping up again. You might not reach the goal, but you'll certainly gain strength, discipline, and frustration (at times) along the way."

Additionally, while I hoped to gain insight into the depth of my own thought, the sheer absence of deep thought on any given night was awakening. That said, I have learned the value of the simple thoughts and the day-to-day which begins to make up our life, and I have begun to appreciate that through this blog. Now however energy needs to go to reading and learning French, with regular blogs to update you all on how it is going.

So no promises for next year, however I believe it has become such a mental exercise that it will be impossible to stop.

So hope you are all having a nice New Year!

Super Plant!!!

We received this plant as a gift during our ESOL class, it was just a bulb then, and in fact another flower had begun to sprout out while in the pot. We followed the instructions, put it in the pot with water and are letting it grow.

It's only supposed to be 10" tall.... I don't know if it comes from being in the Jerdan house hold or what, but this young whipper snapper has surpassed 24"! Here is a picture:

We have to rotate it daily or else it would not grow straight up. I put a pencil in the bottom so you'd have some perspective. It's really cool! (It's also called an amaryllis)

Astigmatism Buddies!

My right eye has been bothering me for a few weeks, so I decided to go to the eye doctor to get them checked. I assumed I'd hear what I always hear when I go to any health care professional:

"You're fine. Just rest, eat healthy, and drink lots of water."

However at least that calms my fears and I go back to being a much more subdued hypochondriac than before.

Today, however, I discovered that I was NOT being a hypochondriac, however there is something amiss in my right eye.... I heard I have "a stigmatism" - which my dear husband just informed is one word. Why does he know this? He has them too! So now we're astigmatism buddies, and we are getting a good chortle about it.

The doctor said I have a "very very minor astigmatism" which has been causing the awkward feeling in my right eye, in addition to eye dryness which can partly be cured with .... drinking lots of water. (I knew I'd hear it!)

So now to decide whether to invest or glasses or not.... decisions decisions. I've never been so glad to hear something was wrong with my health!

What to expect when you ask for spelling help from a translator...

Me: Hey honey, do you know how to spell "peripheral"?
Jon: (oddly excited) Well, do you know how to spell periphery?
Me: (dumbfounded how that can be considered easier to spell) Ah, no.
Jon: Well then, it starts out with the sufficx "peri" ..
Me: How do you spell that?
Jon: Oh, p-e-r-i, which means "around" and then "phery"..
Me: How do you spell that?!
Jon: Ah, phery, which means "stuff."
Me: (impressed by his Greek) O.K.
Jon: Actually, I don't know what "phery" means...
Me: (now impressed by both his Greek and his ability to make a joke out of correct etymology). That's okay :)

"Oh no! She's a PC!!!"

I realized after posting the last blog, that many of my devoted readership may be concerned that I have converted to the "dark side" - aka the world of the PC and Microsoft products.

Please do not be concerned. I have perhaps become sympathetic to the other side, however loyalties still reside with the bitten Apple.

The reason behind the purchase of the netbook and then the peripheral was solely financial. For under $420 I was able to gather this whole set up - big screen, computer, keyboard, and mouse. To purchase a desk-top Mac started at around 1100 which is out of our budget for the moment.

The good news is the Mac mini - the $700 computer that someday we'll purchase and I'll just have to plug it into the current set up. So hope is on the horizon for me yet!

Merry Christmas to ME

First, many thanks to the anonymous Christmas donor (::cough:: thanks mom and dad ::cough, cough::) who made tonight's purchase possible.

Secondly, thank you to Staples for opening right down the road and having an incredible sale on a computer monitor, right within our price point. And for having an additional sale which allowed us to get 15% off the needed accessories.

Thirdly, thank you to my generous husband who trekked down to Staples with me right after work to snatch up what was left!

I can hear your thoughts right now dear reader "What is it?! What could make our blogging friend so incredibly happy, even after Christmas?" Well, let me show you!

Is it a light box?
No...

It is a glowing green techo instrument from the future?
No... but it sure does look like it!

Then what could it be?
It is ... a 23" COMPUTER MONITOR!!!! and WIRELESS KEYBOARD AND MOUSE!!!!!

I had been using a very slow Mac computer for awhile, and then we found the netbook. The netbook provided the speed needed for internet access, however the 10" screen has been very limiting. I've had a few projects come my way for which having a big screen was necessary, and the netbook has been increasingly limiting. So we have been researching computer monitors, and with the post-Christmas sales we knew we needed to act fast. Today we found the deal! I'm very happy.

We intended to get a wired mouse and keyboard, to save money, however Staples only sells wireless keyboards and, with their 15% off everything that fits-in-a-bag deal, that also fit our budget. The green reflecting is from our bankers lamp :o)

So there you have it! I am a very happy blogger today :o)

Christmas Crash

Christmas is such a joyous time with wonderful family and times of sharing and glee.

Today, however, I'm experiencing Christmas Crash. With bags to unpack, wonderful gifts to find new homes for, a pile of papers to go through, and work on top of it, another vacation would be wonderful! I think with all the hub-bub of people around I caught a cold of some sort. Drat.

We are beginning to gear up for an exciting 2012, with more trips around the country, fun projects with our church, and whatever else comes our way. Looking forward to ending 2011 with a great triple date with my siblings and a day off to hang around the house! Hurrah!

Merry Christmas!

3 years ago today I invited a young man over for Christmas, hoping he'd like my family enough to hang around. Little did I know by the end of today, he'd like me!


2 years ago today we were dating.

1 year ago today we had been married for a few months.

And today - we're still married :o)

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Christmas Eve

Today was a beautiful and wonderful Christmas Eve. Here is a quick run down before we go to sleep and wait for "Santa"!

1) LOVELY time with my cousin Emily for our last minute shopping excursion. This has been a regular event since about 2004-  I love it for so many reasons! We always have Chipotle and shop around. This year was different as she picked me up and drove us around! Crazy drivers license and being 17 years old! Let me tell you, I didn't miss driving through Christmas parking lots one little bit, and she did an amazing job driving.

2) INCREDIBLE time at my Aunt Debbies, with our cousins and their four kids. We celebrated Hanukkah and I have to say - it is a beautiful tradition. It was also an incredible time to get to know them all.

3) CHURCH - WONDERFUL. We actually lit the menorah there again and participated in such a lovely service commemorating Christ's arrival

4) FAMILY - We watched "The Nativity," chatted, and ate the "13- deserts" - a French/Jerdan tradition we are successfully importing into this Smith family. Love it!

I'm so very grateful for the family I was raised in and continue to be a part of, and the wonderful family I married into and the wonderful man who brought me into it! Much to be thankful for tonight :o)

Results: Fake Christmas morning

Here is our dear little tree with our advent wreath all lit up!

So, some have asked, what DID I end up getting Jon from the soccer store? Well, he did indeed get a soccer jersey he picked out, but what he didn't know was that I got one exactly like it! We now have matching jerseys and he loved this surprise, just like I thought he would.

It was a wonderful little morning, filled with running around the rest of the day to get things in order, and then again another wonderful time with family this evening! Yay for Christmas!

Fake Christmas morning!

So tonight is Jon & I's Christmas Eve - and tomorrow is fake Christmas morning! Our favorite!

Let me explain - we are going to Annapolis for the weekend, including Christmas day. This means we chose to give our gifts to each other tomorrow morning, hence titling the day "Fake Christmas Morning."

Last year we were nearly giddy with glee - even waking up BEFORE the alarm clock - and thoroughly enjoyed having our own tiny little Christmas together before heading to see the family, which we will do Friday afternoonish.

We have our presents wrapped and under the tree, random guesses at what they are, and great anticipate at what will come in the morning! [in fact, Jon just scurried out of here with a bag and shut the door behind him. I think this is my clue I'm supposed to stay in here until I hear otherwise... which reminds me, I need to figure out when to put the stuff in his stocking...]

We'll be sure to take pictures and post them here! Can't wait!!

Christmas Cards...

There are many things boggling my mind this Christmas (I'm realizing I've spent the past few years either in finals or deeply in love - either way, little time for reflection!) One of these is the persistent habit of Christmas cards.

Now if you are a Christmas card sender, I do not mean to offend. Rather I am in absolute awe. Christmas Cards are something Jon and I have agreed never to do. The sheer feet of addressing all the cards, in addition to the expense of buying the cards and postage, seems absolutely insurmountable to me right now. I'm impressed by all those who can do it.

I understand in the past that Christmas cards were the time you caught up with everyone. You probably hadn't heard from these people since the last time you received a Christmas card from them, and so this was the world's opportunity to catch up with each other. This is absolutely lovely.

However now we have blogs, email, and facebook, and I feel that all those with whom I want to keep in touch with, I do. Or the news gets around much quicker do to the family emails, facebook updates, etc. I've received a few cards which wish us a merry christmas/happy holidays with their picture on them - and that's it - and its a lovely gesture. However I just saw their picture posted on facebook last week - this is the same news. I'd almost rather everyone spend their time with family and friends, rather than addressing and creating all the cards.

That said, it is lovely to have our refridgerator decorated with everyone's lovely visages, and I certainly appreciate that!

Not sure if this post makes me a Grinch or simply a very reflective individual, but there you have it.

Wednesday - again

So interesting anecdotes from recently:

• We're getting to the age where you have to calculate from your birth-year to this year to remember how old you are.
• Jon's car is getting to the point we'll have to think about major repairs or selling. We'll see how this rolls. 
• I'm wondering how-in-the-world women work, stay on top of their home, AND prepare for Christmas at the same time. Even doing the latter would be a Christmas miracle in and of itself. 
• I'm looking forward to spending some good quality time with the family this Christmas!

Funny thing heard at a party

We were recently at a party, full of new parents, talking about their recent births. We were part of a conversation that went something like this:

A wife: "Yeah, we went with a midwife"
Me: "Huh. What was it like with a midwife?"
The husband: "Our baby was delivered by hippies."

It was hysterical. Or maybe you just needed to be there.

Regardless, they were very happy with the experience. Even were told to drink a glass of wine as the contractions got harder! That sounds like it would make it all go much easier...

The Help and Redbox

We watched "The Help" last night. It took two tries on Apple TV, which failed miserably. (If anyone has luck renting movies from Apple, please let us know!) We then were able to track down a redbox which had the film - at the third grocery store we visited, and after registering for a redbox account on our smart phones while driving (the passenger actually did that) and reserving the movie!

It was worth it. I had read the Help before so knew what to expect. It was interesting to see how quickly in a film they have to reveal plot lines that took hundreds of pages to develop. Regardless, it was worth watching and I would certainly recommend.

Additionally, I think we'll take redbox options more seriously they days, incredibly convenient. During this experience however I realized the children born in this generation won't know what it's like to wander through Blockbuster looking at the movie titles and trying to decide which ones to rent. Life is crazy convenient.

Christmas Shopping made easier!

Yesterday we had to stop for an errand in an unfamilar place. When we parked, we looked up and saw there was a soccer store nearby. Being the oh-so-kindly wife, I told Jon he could go browse in there while I did my errand. "Seriously?" he responded in the child-like glee which usually accompanies anything soccer related. "Seriously," I responded favorably, "maybe you'll find your Christmas present!" I wasn't completely serious...

I was still in the store contemplating my next purchase, when I look up and see my husband with the hugest grin on his face nearly skipping down the aisle toward me.

"So did you find something?" I asked knowingly.
In his usual sheepish way when he would like something but doesn't want to press me into anything he noted "well, they have a lot of jerseys at full price, however there is a whole rack of jerseys which are 50% off and.... (dramatic pause)... some of them are from FRANCE!" He went on to explain they were from the years and styles he likes (apparently they change every year) and, of course, once we finished my purchase, we visited the the soccer store.

Now, normally jerseys are pretty expensive, however the discount rack puts them in our price range. He tried on the jerseys he liked - they all fit - and then we even located some shin guards for $10 that he needs.  So he showed me all of my options, then scurried out of the store to let me make my purchase secretly.

Now here, dear readers, is where I must leave you in suspense. You see, I may have bought one of the jerseys, or maybe even both of them, or potentially none of them and opted for a jersey from my favorite team, or even just purchased a bunch of socks to throw him off! Needless to say, Christmas morning will have a surprise!

(and, it's also one last errand I have to run)

The mall

Today I went to the mall to see if I could procure a Christmas present.

Then I remembered why I shop online.

To Kohl's tomorrow I go! They always have exactly what I need.

marriage

I am reflecting on marriage tonight and wrote this.

Seeing you ever more for all you are, and revealed ever more for who I am, we witness the shame unveiled and stare in pain at our own shame exposed. Wanting to run in fear, we turn towards each other for forgiveness, we turn to God for strength to give it, and through his Power -  in each other we see the shame transformed into beautiful trust and gorgeous love.

Gratefulness

Today there was a shooting in a nearby neighborhood. Family - no worries for our safety - it appears to be domestic/gang related and there is no threat to the community, although they are still looking for those who shot the man.

Jon and I had briefly looked at apartments in that community, however no one was in the office at the time so we passed it by. We walk through the neighborhood on the way to the park and I see loads of kids getting into the bus from that neighborhood nearly every day.

It's sobering to both realize how close violence can be and at the same time how far away it is 99.9% of the time. Once I heard I called Jon immediately, to hear his voice and know he's okay, and also grateful that the chance of him being killed outside our home is nigh near impossible.

I'm grateful tonight to know we sleep every night to the sound of our fan blowing and cars driving by, never gun shots or screams. That I can walk out to my car safely and soundly, that we lock our doors more out of habit than actual need, and that the policemen are only a phone call away. Our country has an amazing infrastructure, and I'm grateful for that.

Tonight we'll be praying for families and the policemen who will certainly still be busy once we go asleep.

Sundays, Sundays

highlights from this past weekend:

*Spending good quality time with family on Friday and Saturday
*Hanging out with my old Bible study on Friday night and running into friends at Chevy's!
*Getting back in time on Saturday to spend a marvelous afternoon drinking tea with a friend and mentor
*Met some fascinating people at a Christmas part on Saturday night
*Did the Advent reading at church this morning and didn't burn anything down! Hurrah.
*Had meetings at small group this afternoon
*Spent a wonderful evening relaxing, watched a somehwat uplifting and depressing european movie (per usual) and now getting ready to hit the week!

Much fun to be had by all :o)

Danville: a pearl in the wilderness

Let me share this hidden gem before our blog's readership gets too big and the secret gets spoiled. As we were driving through Kentucky, we decided to poke into Danville because it was apparently a wonderful small town to live in, and we wanted to see what the fuss was all about.

Skepticism grew in my heart as we got closer through the central Kentucky plains and pleasant yet unexciting rolling farmlands south of Lexington, with more and more characterless single-story homes around the road leading into town. What's so great about this little secluded community, thought I?

Well it's biggest claim to fame is that it was ranked 4th best place to retire nationwide by Money Magazine. That's gotta mean: 1) affordable, and 2) good healthcare (indeed as we were walking in the center, we came across almost an entire bloc along Main St of different types of health providers and services; there's also a big hospital there). But also, it's home to Centre College, a reputable college.

As we drove down the main drag, things started looking more interesting. The town was starting to show more (maintained) history in its architecture and infrastructure until we parked at the visitors' center which is located on the edge of a city-block park with old colonial buildings and plaques describing the place's history. Among the "firsts" that Danville proudly claims are the 1st courthouse in Kentucky and the 1st post office west of the Alleghany Mtns.

So we went in and talked with the young lady who was on duty in the visitors' center. She loved the place (always a good sign; we've visited some places where locals tended to say something to the effect of: "Uh, yeah, it's nice here... look, there's these interesting places/things to do within a 2-hour drive from here..."); she grew up in Danville and recently came back upon graduating from college. She enjoys the relaxed and friendly nature of the people as well as the safety (like jogging at night, not locking her home...).

She also showed us a list of the annual events that fill up the calendar. It was quite a bit more active than what I expected for this laid back, away from the mains roads little town. There's something every month: wine tasting festival, outdoor film festival, car show, Christmas parade, the state's barbecue festival, music festival, horse show... Also the college welcomes quite a few renowned exhibits and performances.

Having such a small, liberal arts, private college seems to mean: the community has fun & affordable (for college students) activities and attracts culture. In fact, next year it will host its second vice-presidential debate in 12 years. Not being a public university, it is not a "party school"; one of the locals we talked with described the students as "smart, they study hard." Also, the college guarantees to the students who make it in that they will have an internship and an opportunity to study abroad and graduate in four years. So that's bound to bring some interesting culture awareness and bright minds.

By the time we walked out, several other staff members had shown up, including one who had previously lived in Virginia (almost everyone else who lives in Kentucky apparently grew up near their current hometown and just never found a better place to settle), and it was nice to see that they were not full of themselves. They love Danville, but they told us about other small towns in the greater Lexington area that they also find awesome.

We stopped for lunch at a family-owned restaurant that makes excellent pizzas then kept walking down Main Street before stopping into Karamel Kreations where Beth, who runs the place, gave us some samples of her chocolate-caramel concoction and told us all about the area and why she set up her fun little shop in Danville even though she lives in Lexington, a good 45-minute drive away.

By the time we left the little town, we were surprised by how much we loved it there. There's even a river and a lake nearby, so kayaking looks feasible. I'm not sure how far good skiing and hiking are, but there were some hairpin turns on the road up to Lexington, along the Kentucky River, where the driving reminded me of going up some parts of the Cévennes mountains more than anything else.

The biggest downside for us of living in such a place seems to be that it is about as far from either of our parents as we could get within the part of the country we think we'd enjoy being. So that doesn't sound ideal if a baby is in the picture (no, this is NOT an announcement, we occasionally happen to think ahead).

My first sewing project

So tonight we were setting up our home for Christmas, and I found a piece of cloth that would work nicely as a runner. So I cut it into a solid rectangle, sewed hems on the ends, and now it is lovingly adorning our TV stand! Yay!

It just adds a nice touch of Christmas to the house :)

Antietam

Tonight we went to see the lights of Antietam. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Antietam was a civil war battle and the bloodiest day in American history on American soil, with 23110 causalities (dead, wounded, and missing). Every December they commemorate the battle by placing 23110 luminaries on the battlefield.

We drove, with some friends, 1.5 hours to get there, waited 3 hours in line (in our car!), then it took about a hour to drive through the battlefield, plus another 1.5 hours to return. We had a good time jabbering in the car and were grateful for fun friends to join us on this journey!

It was worth it. It was by far the most poignant display of the value and loss of human life that I have experience and seen. It is one thing to be told 23110 lives were forever altered or destroyed that day, it is a different thing to be surrounded by lights and get an idea of the vastness of such a figure. It was incredibly powerful, both in the telling of the story of that one day in history, and of all other catastrophes in which so many loose their lives.

Here are some of the poor pictures I was able to get on my phone - please google it yourself to see it!


(here we finally made it! You can see what the luminaries basically look like)

 Rows upon rows of lights...

Saturday - Birthdays!!

Saturday was BIRTHDAYS! Seriously - we celebrated everyone's birthdays since March. Everyone got a song, some in English and some in French, and got to blow out the candles. The kids were very excited. Gifts were exchanged to all and it felt very much like a pre-Christmas. Tremendously fun to all be together.



In other random news, here are the things we have been talking about recently:
-Dental Insurance, to buy or not to buy. We think at the end of the day, at our age, cheaper to hunt for a dentist with good prices.
- Christmas crafts. I have a few others I'm going to attempt to work on and will let you all know how they turn out!
- Groceries - we had the pantry well stocked for when we came home, and now the supplies are getting lower and lower. We still have a chicken to cook, and that itself could last us still for days!

Friday - Thanksgiving Continued!

This day was tremendously relaxed. We hung out with family, Sara went to brunch with the ladies while the guys took the kids to the park! Once the kids got to bed we had a relaxing afternoon, and shortly after the kids woke up we set up the Christmas tree in preparation for Christmas... in two days. Sara had the responsibility of delegating all the branches to the plethora of nieces and nephews (okay, to the four nephews and one niece), and Jon utilized his height to get the branches up high! (not that there was a lack of tall people in this family to help out with that....)

The evening was spent in pleasant conversation, while Jon and I watched all his siblings put their kids to bed :o) Jon's older brother Ben arrived that day, and then the family was complete!

Thanksgiving - Road Trip!

Thanksgiving Day we headed out to Chicago - quite a long drive! Our spirits were high though and we were eager to make good time.

Boy did we ever! Thanksgiving is a great day to travel... everyone is cooking :o) We noticed a strong contingent of DC license plates on the PA turnpike - clearly the smart individuals beating the Thanksgiving-Eve DC traffic.

Jon let me sleep for quite awhile before I had my shift, and we regularly switched on and off in about 3 hour shifts from then on. Boy were we grateful for all the rest stops that were open, even on Thanksgiving! I hope all the hard workers got a good meal once they got home.

My favorite memory: Having our own dance party at a gas station in Indiana, when the station was blaring pop music, we were utterly restless, and there was no one around :o) Got the jitters out, and we were ready for the last leg of a long trip!

All my other favorite memories: The ones I didn't make because I was sound asleep while Jon was driving. Easy way to make a 12 hour car ride feel more like 7 hours.

Churchhill Downs

Hi all!

We had a marvelous Thanksgiving/Vacation and I'll be updating the blog with posts for the rest of the week! But first, the easiest blog of our most photographed experience!

Here are are at america's longest running game's stadium - Churchill Downs!

And this horse, Barbaro won in 2007 (I believe), however shortly thereafter broke his legs. He is apparently cremated and his remains are here, along with a quote from Eric Liddel on the back. Curious and interesting.

Here are on the walking tour! Here are the betting stands and our tour guide who was utterly impressive in his knowledge of all things Kentucky Derby:

This horse won in 1915, a girl-horse (filly?) - whose owner named her regret upon her birth. I also think it is interesting this is near the betting stands....

This is the paddock next to the stands, with rubber bricks to protect the horses feet!

Ah yes, War Admiral, a Triple Crown winner - and of course a foe of Seabiscuit. Regardless, he apparently was a wonderful horse. 

The Steeples! A big deal apparently.

Here is the paddock, where horses are walked around ONCE before the Derby. Based upon that walk around, many place their bets. 

This is the greatest and fastest winningest horse of them all. I now need to see the movie. 

Here we are walking out to the track!

Being weighted on the same scale the jockies are weighed on! Smiling because of the experience.... not because of the news. [Funny thing, the scale in the museum was about 10 lbs lighter... hm...]

Jon is enjoying the experience as well :o)

I just thought this was interesting, particularly thinking the message it brings to so many jockies!

The racetrack! Pretty cool...

So, to get six chairs in one of these boxes, will cost you 3,000 on race day. And they are metal chairs!

Here you can see them all lined up. The stands up further are entitled "Millionaire's Row" for obvious reasons. 

Track! Winners circle is behind me.

I doubt anywhere else in the world you can see a sign like this.

Jon crossing the finish line! (it is the old finish line they keep on display)

This is the name of the miniature horse they keep in the stables next to the big horse, who came in second a few years ago.

Here he is! And the back side of the big horse. So cute! (the little horse, not the back side!) Parks and Recreation fans anyone?

There is the information on the big horse if you are actually interested...

It was such a neat experience, and so utterly unique to Kentucky. More about the museum next!

Tradi-TION! TRADITION!

This time last year, we had Thanksgiving Eve dinner with our new friends, the Dallands, and then carpooled to the Thanksgiving Eve service at RPC.

This year, it has become a tradition! Our now regular friends, the Dallands (of course they have the same name!) invited us over for dinner and then we went to the Thanksgiving Eve service once again.

 It's fun to begin a new tradition, which is basically the second time you do something and name it so - tradition!


And, of course, "Tradition!" from Fiddler on the Roof " has been running through my head the whole evening, sense the title of this blog :o) "Without our traditions, our lives would be as shakey as... a FIDDLER on the ROOF!"

Mondays

I feel like there is a pallor over Mondays, especially Mondays that are dark, cold, and rainy. And especially Monday evenings that are dark when I leave work. I'd gladly give up that hour of sleep to experience a sunny evening once again. I'll be so happy once the sun comes back up! Christmas can't get here fast enough, if only to see the sun again - and of course the family!

Speaking of Christmas, a few days ago we received a French Christmas CD in the mail. We were overjoyed and fully confused! We had not ordered this cd, requested it, nor had been alerted to its arrival. We have been bewildered ever sense and put it aside until "something" happened, we were not sure what! Then today my dear Grammy Ona sent us an email asking us if we had recieved it - of course! Grammy Ona! Why had we not contacted her immediately? So glad to have the mystery solved, and even happier that it was not a mistake and we can keep it :o) We will pop it in after Thanksgiving!

Sunday = Complete

Today was full and relaxing, a rare combination however somehow it works!

Church this morning, potluck following, and then a very successful team meeting. We essentially mapped out how we want to put content on the walls in our foyer - which now is essentially a free-for-all - and I'm very excited about the potential for the foyer to be effective, functional and beautiful! I came home on a productive high, which is rare :) Once Christmas is over we will get to work on the transformation, pricing out various types of vertical storage in the meantime, as well as magnetic paint :D

Jon and I then returned home, snacked, watched some shows, then got to making dinner, wrapping presents, cleaning the kitchen, and completing a few things left on the to-do list. Still need to pack and finish laundry, however that can wait until the day before the trip or thereabouts.

All in all, a calm, settled day, and it feels good to be rested before beginning the next week!

Review: Megabus

Last month, for my trip to Boston, I decided to give Megabus a try. It's one of the express bus companies that connect cities, mostly in the Northeast, though their network does branch out way beyond the region. It seemed like a much more affordable way to get up to Boston than by plane or train or even Greyhound (and with less security hassle than airports) . I opted for a most established, organized company than the Chinatown buses that run up and down the coast, and this was the only company I found that had direct trips between DC and Boston (others would have me change buses in New York).

I looked for reviews. Some hated their experience with Megabus. For others it was their favorite way to travel.

My experience turned out to average. Overall, it wasn't terrible or traumatizing. It also wasn't wonderful.

Organizationally, it seemed a little under par ("under" not being used in a similar way as in golf). In Washington, they used a parking lot a 10-minute walk away from Union Station as their departure/arrival area. They were setup to get things working pretty smoothly with staff and cones and booths to direct people to the right bus or waiting line. But operating from a parking lot can be a bit unreassuring. Fortunately the weather was fine, but I can imagine it being unpleasant in rain or snow. Now, I have since heard that there's a new bus terminal near Union Station, so that issue has maybe been solved now.

We had one stop on the northeast side of Baltimore, on the edge of a mall's parking lot right off I-95. There were a few cones and small signs as a waiting area for passengers. And the other stop was in Seacaucus, NJ, at what seems to be a major bus terminal right off I-95 with a rail connection to NYC. That's where we got a new driver for the second half of the trip.

Then in Boston, arrival and departure were at a pretty well organized bus terminal next to South Station. At least it seemed well organized at first. When I was returning on Sunday morning, I had a bus scheduled for 10:15 am. I got there 45 minutes early, and another bus was at my gate, leaving for NY at 10:00. It was filling up with passengers 20 minutes early so that was encouraging. But after that one left, no new bus came in its place. After waiting 15 minutes past the departure time, I went to a Megabus guy who was trying to keep the amassing travelers waiting for their buses in the right line (it was getting closer to the departure time for the next bus to NY as well) to ask him if he had any information on when the bus would be there. "It's on its way." So it finally arrived just in time to fill up and leave at 11:00.

Comfort wise, it was OK as long as I could put my legs in front of the seat next to that which I was sitting on. That posed no problem on the way up, when I don't think there were more than 20 people on board (in the middle of the week). On the way down however, it was another story. It was the day after an overnight blizzard that had seen a whole lot of bus cancellations (I was originally scheduled to leave Boston Saturday evening and arrive in DC Sunday morning early enough to get to church in Reston). And it was on a weekend to boot. So I sat next to someone from Boston to Baltimore, and could not comfortably fit my legs in the space behind the seat in front of mine. I also wasn't too comfortable when I twisted my legs to dangle my feet out in the aisle, where there was more breathing space. At the stop near Baltimore, enough people got off that I could switch sides of the bus to have 2 seats to myself for the last hour.

I was hoping to use my eight hours on the road productively and get some work done (well at least on the way up to the conference, I wasn't planning on working on the overnight trip back). Megabus's website says that they "will make a reasonable effort to make WIFI services available free of charge to every passenger." But I could neither my phone nor my laptop could find a WIFI connection on the Boston-bound bus. I did spend a little time doing some offline work like preparing invoices, but I couldn't be as productive as I had hoped, so I got more sleep than anticipated. I also read some. And played on my phone. There wasn't much space to open my computer anyway (I balanced it on my leg and the seat next to me), and with the bounciness of the bus, I could type all that efficiently anyway.

Of course on the "cozy" way down, I did not open my computer. My phone found a WIFI network whose name matched the number at the front of bus. My phone said it was connected. I could not pull up any website on my phone (unless I turned off the WIFI and used up some 3G data). So that got kinda frustrating. I had been able to get on a free Megabus network when I was waiting around in the bus terminal, but once on the bus, no matter what I tried, I couldn't use the network I was connected to all day long.

The drivers were friendly and accurately announced our lunch breaks and all. They were also safe. Nothing to complain about there.

Their communication was imperfect but got the job done. Buying the tickets was quite quick and easy on their website, and very affordable. On Saturday afternoon, as the freak snowstorm was getting closer, I decided to call their customer service to check if I should expect any problem with my trip, and was told all the information is on the site. Hmph. I was expecting more detail than that from a human. The website noted some cancellations but my bus was only marked as 2 hours late. It wasn't clear if that meant the departure would be 2 hours later or if the trip would take 2 hours longer. So I continued according to plan. As I was packing my last things I got back online to check for updates, and my bus was cancelled. Stink. I called their customer service and after not too long got rescheduled on a bus twelve hours later than the one I had bought, and they're hassle-free enough that I didn't even need to print off an email with the new confirmation (good thing, 'cause I never got that email); I could just make notes of the new confirmation number on my previous reservation. Sometime later that evening I got an email telling me my (original) bus trip was cancelled. It would have been nice to get that earlier, like right after they decided to cancel it. It was a good thing I was staying with an easy-going friend who didn't have a problem letting me stay for another night, rather than at the expensive Marriott where the conference was held. An extra night there woulda been painful to the bank account.

In conclusion, I'd say you can consider Megabus a cheap option to get between major cities without much hassle and if you're not in a big hurry. But I won't tell you you have to use them to travel whenever you can.

I'd say... 6.5 / 10

Our Saturday to dos.

Today's Saturday was full from catching up during the work week, in addition to preparing for our trip. I thought I would show a picture of our to-do list, which captures the aura of today:

On the left you have the list I made for when Jon was out of town - there are only two things left on it, which hopefully will get completed...soon.

On the right you have the list for today. As you can see, there are still a few items left, however we are hoping to get these done tomorrow. And look how many items we got done!

"Wait a minute Sara," the astute reader will think to themselves, "you clearly have 'wake-up' listed and crossed off on the bottom! That's not that hard!"

Astute observation, I reply. I woke up this morning, saw the list, and was immediately overwhelmed. Thinking quickly to abate the rising panic, I wrote down "wake-up" [as that is the only thing I had yet done] and crossed it off. That simple act gave the day a lovely air of accomplishment, which we were able to ride for the rest of the day. And hopefully some into tomorrow!

Zumba & Spinning

After having joined a gym a few months ago, I'm finding a routine and the classes that fit it! These are predominately Zumba and Spinning classes. Both very different, and phenomena in and of themselves.

Zumba - This is based on predominately Latin music and girl, do you move. As women were designed to move! Every time I'm there, I think "Zumba is evidence God made women very, very sexy." I have never been in a more diverse environment - looking around the fitness room clearly every continent is represented by several people. And we're all dancing in unison, laughing, cheering, and over all there to get a good work out and enjoying it to boot. It's an odd thing to have in common with so many people and I'm enjoying it.

There is a class on Friday evenings and then Saturday afternoons that I can usually get to. The first 15 minutes I'm thinking "Wow! This is fun! Dancing, sweating, everyone's having a good time!" Minute 16 - I'm looking at the clock. Minute 45 - everyone's looking at the clock! Today I was able to keep up with the whole class the whole time, and it's wonderful to feel the evidence of my fitness "regime." (aka. hauling my bottom to the gym as often as possible)

Spinning - Now this is something very different! No dancing, we're all on stationary bikes. No unision, we're all on bikes with our own sense of how hard the tension needs to be and how fast we can pedal. However it's also so much fun! Part of the fun is having a sense of autonomy in the work out - no one can tell how hard I have the tension on my bike or what my cadence truly is. And no one really cares, everyone is focused on staying with the instructor. The music is fairly loud, which drives the workout as the instructor calls out the next bike tension, when to sprint, when to climb (aka, stand up in the peddles), and so forth. My heart rate gets up VERY high, as there's no opportunity to trip, you can go as fast as you want!

I'm very grateful for both classes and the opportunity to attend both of them!

Thoughtless Thursday

"He who fears suffering, is already suffering that which he fears." - La Fontaine

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat

Last night I went to bed early and when I awoke, I remembered what it was like to think clearly.

Feeling more than usually fatigued tonight, I'm going to repeat the same activity tonight (going to bed early that is).

In other news, in preparation for Jerdan Thanksgiving and early Christmas, shopping for that side of the family came early this year! To keep track of it all (as for some odd reason I don't remember doing this last year...hmm...) I developed a matrix to track the progression of each purchase through figuring out what it was, ordering it, having it arrived at our home, and finally wrapping the presents. The matrix is proving successful, we have been able to keep track of everything, and this weekend will be full of wrapping glee, as all (but one!) present has arrived. It is a good feeling to feel ahead of the curve this year. A very good feeling. And even better to have not needed to set foot in a store for a large majority of the presents! I'll need to remember this for next year - and keep the matrix intact!

Tuesdays that feel like Thursdays

Today is definitely a Tuesday that feels like a Thursday. The same sense of "blah" and of "I can't remember what day it is." Combined with a lack of energy, it's a perfect time to go to bed early to not repeat such an evening :o) I did however successfully make dinner, so that is a win for the evening.

Part of it is how dark it gets so much earlier now-a-days. Very easy to get very sleepy.

My facebook timer kicked me off tonight. I am very grateful for StayFocused.com - I set it to 20 minutes each day, and it DEFINITELY kicks me off if I'm on facebook to long! Hurrah for technology that helps you manage more technology.

And now, to bed, with a book.

Yay mawwiage!

Sometimes I look over and Sara is just staring at me with a big grin and enamoredness pouring out of her eyes. I'm not sure what's causing it, but I'll take it.

Monday mornings

Mondays are never fun. Today's wasn't particularly either. It started with me being late out the door. It continued in general unpleasantness the rest of the day. It ended fairly well with a fun time at ESOL class, talking with Jon and some good friends, and watching "The Office."

So, not a bad end to a Monday, with a bright prognosis for Tuesday, if only that Wednesday and Thursday come very shortly thereafter, followed soon by a weekend!

In a humorous story, tonight after drilling my student on the benefits of properly pronouncing the "Th" and "F" sounds (easily confused with "T" and "P" apparently), going over a table setting over and over again, and generally slowly plugging through English, on our way out the door she turns around and boldly states "bye-bye Sara! See you later!" It made me laugh so hard, as I never taught her that! She must have a secret source somewhere....

Sunday

Noteworthiness and thoughts this Sunday:

I downloaded sermons from Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC and their pastor Tim Keller onto my iPhone/now iPod. We turned on the sermon "The New Heaven and the New Earth" and thoroughly enjoyed it, learning quite a bit, and I ended up cleaning the kitchen more so that I could keep listening. Worthwhile.

And I'm already looking forward to Thursday, my last day this work week. At least I have a clean kitchen to get us through the week!

HAPPY 27TH BIRTHDAY JON!!

Today we celebrated the completion of Jon's 27th trip around the sun! First, many thanks to Mom and Dad J who made this today possible, and particularly to Mom, for whom today certainly was not the easiest 27 years ago!

My goal today was to stay sane. If there is anything Jon loves, it is a calm and joyful Sara, so I had to give that to him today.

Additionally, I made him breakfast to be sure he was well fed for his soccer game today! It included home made pancakes and a French topping I found at Trader Joes; it is somewhat like Greek yogurt, but yummier and smoother. As you can see, he is very very happy:

(you see the fan in the background? Yup, still left over from the smoke debacle last night.)

He then suited up and went to his soccer game, which lasted 2 hours long! I managed to get the kitchen all cleaned up (wouldn't know to see it now...) and the cake nice and frosted. Once he returned and cleaned up, we had lunch on the table. One of his favorite meats, lamb, with some green-beans and almonds, plus mashed potatoes. He LOVED it.

And here is the cake! Very Tim Burtonesque I would say.

It actually fell apart when I turned the pan over, however I managed to squish it all back together :o) A future in cake decorating is not for me...

We watched "Pans Labyrinth" - one of his birthday presents - and enjoyed the conversation thereafter. This evening we cashed in a gift certificate we had for a couples massage, went out to dinner at Cheeburger Cheeburger, and returned to more cake, The Office, and Psych. Over all, a wonderful day.

Almost super woman

Today I had a brief moment when I felt like I had it together. I had spent a wonderful day in DC with one of my dearest friends, came home, made homemade chicken soup, and managed to get the dishes done as well! I also was able to wrap Jon's presents, get his card ready, and set up the table for breakfast tomorrow! Wow, so impressive.

It was a glorious moment. Then I tried to bake a cake.

It began while the oven was pre-heating. Smoke began streaming from the stove, and I realized there was still oil left on the bottom of the oven from last night's dinner. Alas. Well, I thought, I'll just let it burn off. But as the kitchen and dining room began filling furiously with smoke, I realized it would be impossible to work in the kitchen while all the smoke was coming off.

So I halted the cake making, and set the oven to "clean." This requires our three fans to be strategically placed about the house to funnel the smoke out the dining room window. [my cousin Emily helped me figure this out!] And the smoke poured and poured, until finally at long last the oven was clean. (on a side note, I unfortunately left the oven racks in there - they seem to be okay....)

Hurray! Back to the cake. I was making good progress, until I realized I had forgotten to pick up eggs!  and icing! Ah! So off to the 24/7 grocery story I went! Upon returning, I was able to successfully make the cake, it is cooking in the oven as we speak. And I'm very grateful for 24/7 grocery stores.

So tonight I turned the oven on and off 4 times, had to put the house in disarray to accommodate the fans, have a kitchen full of dishes yet to clean, and the feeling of having it all together is but a fleeting memory. And I'm okay with that! We're happily married, happily safe, and happy to be together.

Thanks for reading!

Thoughtless Thursdays

Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people - Eleanor Roosevelt

I've been thinking about this one a lot recently. 

Wednesday, Wednesday

Tonight's huge accomplishment:
Laundry. Both the laundry that has been sitting in the dryer (dried, luckily) and the garments we have soiled in the meantime. It is mostly all washed, dried, and (drum roll...) put away! Hurrah, hurrah.

Tonight's subsidiary accomplishments:
Home cooked meal (thanks Jon!) dishes cleaned and put away, several emails answered, normal tidying up the house, and so forth.

Tonight's bravest accomplishment:
I signed up to take a meal to a church family. I have never done this before, partial with the "I'm a student" excuse or the "I don't know how to cook" excuse. As neither are reliable, I decided to sign up. (also, check out  http://takethemameal.com/ if you know of anyone who needs meals and have a need to coordinate them . It is a wonderful tool)

Tonight's most enjoyable accomplishment:
Psych and The Office in between chores. Need I say more? And, of course, being together.

Tuesday, Tuesday

I remember when I started this blog, I hoped it would unearth my inner poet, and I would nobly impress myself with my eloquent thoughts and deep thinking.

What is has revealed, however, is the nonsense running through my brain in the evenings, exhausted from work and not-as-much-sleep as I should be getting. Here is a sampling of tonight's nonsense:

*Spinning class is fun. Way fun. Just wish I hadn't thrown my neck out in the process (how do you throw your neck out riding a stationary bike?) Thank goodness for gym saunas. And husbands who are good at massaging.
*Christmas presents - figuring them out, buying them, while staying in budget. A good task, and one we're almost on top of this year. In fact, the mere act of thinking about them this early is nigh near shocking for me. Never have done that before!
*All day I think about how much cleaning I could get done in the evening, and then I get home, and think about all the relaxing I can get done in the evening! Maybe I should think more about relaxing while at work, then I'll want to clean when I get home....
*Life is great. Glad we weren't hit by an asteroid today - even though that wasn't possible. Hope the astronomers got some good pictures of it.

Thanks for reading my nonsense!

Our media diet

I'm not quite sure what it is about Monday's that takes out all the relaxation from Friday through Sunday, however whatever it is, it sure is effective!

Two of my media diet staples have come to an end this weekend. I have completed Tetris twice and we finished watching Parks and Recreation. Alas. On to the last season of The Office!

As we don't watching television Tuesdays and Thursdays, I'll be glad to have another fun show to relax to on "TV on" days. However it's also reassuring to know our media diet is balanced and tomorrow will be spent more talking with each other than enjoying the company one on another.

Key Revelation

So while Jon and I were dating, between the two of us we probably locked our keys in the car or house 5+ times, at least. However, since we've been married, we haven't locked ourselves out of anything! I believe it is because everytime we leave the house we have a conversation that goes like this:

Jon: Do you have your keys?
Sara: Yes, do you have your keys?
Jon: Yes.

And the fact that we both have keys to the same house and same car makes live much easier. There's a lot of pluses to marriage, having your keys is one of them!

Thoughtless Thursday

"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter -- It is the difference between the lightening bug and the lightening." - Mark Twain

The Squeaky Wheel

So I got a very positive response from Chiptole! Here is their response:


Thanks for getting in touch with us. I'm sorry that what should have been a fun promotion was soured by our response to your costume. You shouldn't have had to argue with our team if you were dressed on the theme of family farming, and you shouldn't have had to go through extra stress over the guacamole charge. I'll make sure to let the people who oversee the Reston Town Center location know about your story so they can make sure their staff handles future promotions more judiciously.

I'd be happy to offer you a card for free chips and guac to make up for the trouble. If you don't mind responding with your physical address, I'll happily mail the card out to you. Thanks again for letting us know about this, and I look forward to your reply."




I'm pretty impressed, both by their timely response and their very well written reply! Well done. And, if anyone would like to go to Chiptole with us any time soon, the chips and guac are on us :-D


In the meantime, I am trying to make chicken broth, and nearly forgot about it! Whoops - good thing it can keep boiling for a long time and not get any worse...

Chipolte!

In case you didn't know about Chipotle, it is an amazing place to eat! They also have a fun promotion on Halloween where you can come dressed in certain theme and get cheap burritos! Namely they cost $2, and those donations go to the famers (at least this year). So this Halloween it was a farm theme.

I went as a tomato! Jon thought I looked "cute" - I'm just glad I'm not actually that round.

 And Jon went as a farmer! Here we are together - farmer and his tomato:

Now when we got to the Chipotle, the cashier insisted that we had to come dressed as a farmer, however distinctly on their website they had people dressed as food. I insisted right back, very vehemently, that my outfit was also acceptable, and got the burrito for $2 - almost. She charged for the guacamole.... so I wrote Chipotle about it and am seeing what they are going to do.

Mostly I'm just impressed I would stand up for myself like that! Very cool, no?

We then came home, watched some tv and eat our YUMMY food, and then got some things done around the house. A very wonderful evening for sure.

Happy

Jon is home! He has been out of town at a translator conference for a few days and boy, did we miss each other.

For all those whose life situation requires extended periods of time away from your spouse, my hats off to you. You have my never ending respect and admiration.

So tonight we are busy staring at each other and just relishing being in the same physical space at the same time. Bliss.

In the morning, in the morning...

Jon and I recently began the habit of singing to each other in the morning. I'm not quite sure why, but somehow waking up to a lovely little ditty is more lovely than the grunt you feel! Our songs goes like this:

"Waking up is hard to do
    .... in the morning, in the morning
Waking up is very hard to do
.... very EARLY in the morning" (we sing it back and forth).

Jon made this up one day, and it has stuck. We sing every other line back and forth. We are also introducing this one:

"Good morning, good morning, good morning,
.... it's time to rise and shine.
Good morning, good morning, good morning,
... I hope you're feeling fine!
It's time to get up, and out of bed,
... it's time to wake up you sleep head
Good morning, good morning, good morning,
... it's time to rise and shine!"

One of us has to be particularly chipper to pull this one off though!

Current browsing activity

As we have previously posted, we recently watched "Soul Surfer" which I found utterly enchanting and inspiring. Now it isn't the world's best acting, however the true story is deeply compelling.

I was browsing the web for information on Bethany Hamilton, and came across the story of Nick Vujicic, who was born without arms or legs, to a pastor and his wife. He's a deep believe in Christ, and his testimony is truly compelling and inspiring. I'm still digesting it myself.

In other news: I made some yummy pasta with canned chicken tonight. New favorite :o)

Roller Derby

Today, I actually met a woman who does roller derby! They're actually real people who do that. She's another translator, and we were talking about activities that get us away from the computer and out of the home, and that's her thing. She doesn't have the big build you'd expect for such a high contact sport, but she said she can hold her own against other women who come at her with more weight. She explained some of the rules on who the scoring works with the "jammer" passing the opponents in the "pack" and also how in Quebec, the English words are used as well. And apparently, it's a challenging process to get into Montreal's league: she had to pass tests!

Also, there are apparently men's leagues starting up for the sport. But no, I'm not planning on joining one.

You learn some everyday. And some days, you'll even be surprised by some of the things you learn.

My Seasonal Closet Experiment

This season I am once again embarking upon the great closet-detoxt, with hard data to prove what I do wear, and what I only think I am wearing.

I begin the season by hanging up ALL my clothes backwards, like this:

Once I hang clothes back up however, I always hang them up like so:

By the end of the winter I'll have a mixed-bag of hangers. The ones hung up backwards are ones I never even bothered trying on, let alone actually wear. I can then gladly give them away, as I will have hard data to prove to my own self that I never will wear them, no matter how wonderful they look in my closet. Currently, it looks like this:

We'll see how they all fare the rest of the season! If I don't wear them, surely someone else will.

The Plague of Email

If you have sent me an email recently, I apologize. Although my email is flagged, marked, tagged, and filtered, I still have not yet quite found either the will or ability to keep up with it.

So to my family, friends, and spammers, I am not ignoring you (unless you are a spammer then, yes, yes I am ignoring you), I simply have not quite found the right balance in life between social media (a la Facebook), blogging, text messaging, phone calls, and - most importantly - actually conversing with my husband. That is so easily lost in the hub-bub of it all!

With some good news, we may have finally found an electronic calendar that works on our computers and on our phones, which has helped us a great deal. Most importantly, we are beginning to see how busy we have become through various commitments, which is a good thing to see on paper and realize "oh wow, we are busy." Additionally I can schedule things with people on the go! Hurrah! So next time you see me, feel free to casually ask "So, are you free next Friday?" - even if you aren't, I can tel you if I am :o)

ESOL

Jon and I recently started teaching ESOL at our local church. It is very new for both of us and we are learning as we go. While he teaches the advanced class, I am working with one individual who has zero english. Not one little bit, and it has been a challenge the past few weeks to even establish basic class room etiquette.

Tonight felt rewarding. Powered with the simple phrases I taught last week "I don't know" and "I don't understand" - I can finally figure out if she is understanding anything I am saying! I'm also learning the power the stick figure and barely decipherable drawings; I was able to communicate what "homework" was with some cave-man like drawings of a home, a school bus, and a school house. She also is gaining confidence in the communication that can happen through powerful pointing and the word "What." She is armed with homework for the next few weeks, so we will see what happens.

It is becoming quite fun and rewarding, and I am grateful for the opportunity.

Oh the places we'll go.... maybe....

Tonight Jon and I plotted out our trip for November, when we plan on trolling through Kentucky to spot out places to live some day. This is very very hard to do, as there are some beautiful places to live in Kentucky, and only so many days to really see them all! So we prayed about it, took some off the list, and hopefully charted a path through some interesting towns, with low costs of living, and some culture to boot.

In other news, we hosted small group at our home today! Our leaders home is still recovering from the intense flood water we had here a few weeks ago, so we had the opportunity to see if our new space works with a small group! It was wonderful and the smaller spaces allowed for an easy flowing conversation, rather than shouting across our living room. I even managed to make some kettle corn for the occasion.

Additionally, in honor of our First Anniversary, Karl (the group leader) made us cake! The decoration is truly amazing:

Here we are blowing the candle out:

(note to self - blowing out a candle does not an attractive picture make.....)

Thoughtless Thursdays, revamped

In my current state of thoughtlessness, I think it fitting to re-instate Thoughtless Thursdays, even if it is on a Friday.

"Through loosing my arm, I am now able to embrace more people with one arm, than I ever could with two." - Bethany Hamilton on "Soul Surfer" (or, at least her character).

Check your spelinlg

Yesterday, as I was walking to the nearby county park looking for some soccer, I noticed something written on the back of a sign at the park's entrance:

I almost have the impression this is a warning from experience...

Tetris vs. Angry Birds

We both recently, and separately, downloaded games to our phones for those moments when your brain needs a little break and you have the time to give it one.

Sara downloaded Tetris.
Jon downloaded Angry Birds.

Sara is slightly obsessed, Jon much less so, but is glad to have a game on his phone while his wife indulges her obsession.

(slight sarcasm....)

Tetris is so much fun! I'm not sure why, other than the slight strategic thinking it requires, plus the amazing feeling of getting something done... even if it is just stacking blocks in a straight line, and the challenge of doing it under increasingly complex situations. While this certainly is very life-like (especially getting things done under increasingly complex situations), having it limited to stacking blocks is somehow liberating.

Jon is enjoying angry birds, for a reason completely unbeknowst to him, other than the sheer pleasure of it. Cute cartoons flying a cross the screen, blowing things up, knocking things over, and the animals are cute and round to boot.

Somehow I feel like our game choices reflect on our personality - perhaps they do, perhaps they don't. That said, we are enjoying them - in moderation of course!

Phones and Life in General

We now have official phone numbers, one for home and two for our cells. If you want them, contact us for them :) [Mine is the same as before]

Other than that, my conference is over, and we have two days of relative "normalcy" ahead of us. The home is increasingly more functional and is such a blessing to be in during the day.

I myself am exhausted from three days of a long commute to the National Harbor and spending time around LOTS of people, in addition to some fairly intense learning about a mundane topic. So- off to fold laundry then head to bed!

Mail System!

First, huge shout out to the Google Android System, Picassa Albums, and Blogger, which are all so seamlessly integrated it took me about 45 seconds to take these pictures on my phone and upload them here. It's beautiful, wonderful, and promises many more pictures on our blog. 

Here is our new post office in our home! We were having a challenge keeping track of our mail. When we came in, it inevitably ended up on our kitchen counter to be sorted, which turned into piles around the home, which of course ended up being general chaos when it came to paying the rare paper bill or fulfilling our pledge commitments - and of course the credit card offers rarely get shreded.

Enter - system! We (Jess and I) found this at Office Depot. I think it's meant to sit on a desk, however it was light enough we figured we can hang it on the wall. So now as soon as we come in the home, we can sort our mail to see what we need to see immediate, what is for us specifically, and what can wait awhile.

Tonight we finally labeled each shelf to be clear what we are putting on there. The top level is for "Actions" - the mail we actually have to do something about, like the bills to be paid. The next two shelves are for Jon and I personally, primarily for our business communications. Next we have "Philanthropy" as we find there are alot of charitable organizations we receive mail from and want to read. Following is the shelf for "Other" - primarily for the credit card offers we need to shred, and for various other things that can wait a few days until we get to them. And, finally, in typical librarian style the final shelf is reserved for all things "Oversized" - like magazines - so we can still sort them here, however they won't block visibility.

Thanks for reading!
(random note: almost every time I typed "mail" in this blog, I automatically spelled "email" and had to re-do the word. Funny.)