As time passes, people come in and out of our lives. Some by life circumstances and other leave us because of death.
One of my Dad's good friends died very suddenly of a heart attack over the weekend. As I read his obituary in the paper, it seems reminds me as quick as the paper is thrown away we'll move on the next life challenge. His wife and family will grieve for a long time and he'll always remain in our hearts. But the earth will keep spinning.
Last week we also heard of the good-bye of a very young woman who died of cancer. My husband knew her from childhood. It was only a year ago she was diagnosed. Her journey toward heaven is very inspiring.
Both of these dear souls knew their Lord and had given their hearts over to him. Their deaths are our loss on this earth. I look forward to seeing them and many others in heaven someday.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007
Transfer of Ownership
My marriage to Mark has brought me a wonderful set of in-laws. Mark's youngest sister is Rachel. Whenever I would talk to Rachel on the phone or see her during our engagement, she would always speak of her Mark. "My Mark is sleeping." or "My Mark is getting married." Rarely was it just "Mark." Now she loved me and I adored her, so it wasn't a jealousy thing at all.
After the wedding though, Rachel now refers to him when speaking with me as "your Mark." She has officially transferred ownership. "Your Mark is at work."
Since Mark is a boy that should be possessed by a girl, he was hers until the wedding. Afterwards, he left their home, now lives with Laura, so he must be Laura's Mark.
I'm glad she is willing to let me have him...I promise to share with her :).
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Valentine's Day with the Flu
I was so excited this year to return home from a business trip to Boston, just in time to celebrate Valentine's Day with my husband. Now I know that this holiday is overly commercialized etc... but this is our first one together, so the sentimental girl in me wanted it to be special.
Well as I stepped off the plane, I got a sudden burst of shaking and chills which later ensued into a full-blown flu. Instead of bringing me home flowers, Mark brought me medicine. I didn't feel like eating, much less cooking so he lived off of left-overs and sandwich meat during my illness...so much for a romantic candle light dinner.
We still went to a play on Friday night. I spent most of the evening blowing my nose and resting on his shoulder. It was a good show though.
Finally after sleeping 14 hours from Saturday to Sunday, I started feeling better. Mark had to work both days this weekend, so I just slept most of the time he was gone.
We had our romantic dinner on Sunday night.
I'm finally almost back to my normal self and just praying Mark doesn't get sick. :)
Well as I stepped off the plane, I got a sudden burst of shaking and chills which later ensued into a full-blown flu. Instead of bringing me home flowers, Mark brought me medicine. I didn't feel like eating, much less cooking so he lived off of left-overs and sandwich meat during my illness...so much for a romantic candle light dinner.
We still went to a play on Friday night. I spent most of the evening blowing my nose and resting on his shoulder. It was a good show though.
Finally after sleeping 14 hours from Saturday to Sunday, I started feeling better. Mark had to work both days this weekend, so I just slept most of the time he was gone.
We had our romantic dinner on Sunday night.
I'm finally almost back to my normal self and just praying Mark doesn't get sick. :)
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Bigger isn't better
Wal-Mart charcoal, in addition to being less expensive than the name brand Kingsford, advertises 60% bigger bricks. This is definitely one instance where bigger is not better. These charcoal barely last, never really grey, and don't get very hot. I barely can finish grilling our meals some nights.
I decided this was annoying and purchased some regular Kingsford. We had a fabulous steak and potato dinner on the grill last Tuesday. They performed much better than the 60% bigger bricks.
While sometimes the Wal-Mart brand really is a savings, these charcoal are no "Great-Value."
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Some things are round and some things are square
Shapes play a vital role in our life. Street signs for example come in many distinct shapes. While driving down the highway long before I'm able to see the words on the sign, I can tell by the shape what the message is likely to be.
In my ordered world, I still like to add some variety to the shapes of my life. When Mark and I registered for our wedding, we got some square plates, square-ish cups, and square stemware. Now I find this "variety" very enjoyable. My brother on the other hand was a bit disturbed. He felt that glasses and plates were round. My choices were fine...just not traditional. He felt the glasses were some what impractical as that you have to be more selective of where you choose to drink from than a round glass.
While this example clearly demonstrates the engineer in my brother, it also reminded of all the things I expect to be a certain way and a certain shape. Most things in my life do meet my expectations and follow what is seemingly logical order. Typically though it is those that diverge that catch my attention and occupy my mind.
I think we tend to exaggerate how much things "change" or "aren't the way we expect" because we fail to notice the things that stay the same or are the way we expect. While dealing with change can be a challenge, noticing what is square or round may be more difficult.
In my ordered world, I still like to add some variety to the shapes of my life. When Mark and I registered for our wedding, we got some square plates, square-ish cups, and square stemware. Now I find this "variety" very enjoyable. My brother on the other hand was a bit disturbed. He felt that glasses and plates were round. My choices were fine...just not traditional. He felt the glasses were some what impractical as that you have to be more selective of where you choose to drink from than a round glass.
While this example clearly demonstrates the engineer in my brother, it also reminded of all the things I expect to be a certain way and a certain shape. Most things in my life do meet my expectations and follow what is seemingly logical order. Typically though it is those that diverge that catch my attention and occupy my mind.
I think we tend to exaggerate how much things "change" or "aren't the way we expect" because we fail to notice the things that stay the same or are the way we expect. While dealing with change can be a challenge, noticing what is square or round may be more difficult.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Child's View of Marriage
For those of us blessed with parents who are still together, it is hard to imagine them as a part of separate families. Marrying into a family with smaller children has refreshed my view of how kids view their family. In their mind, their family is and was always this way. They recognize Grandma and Grandpa but the thought of mommy living with them doesn't make a lot of sense. When their family continues to grow and change, children also struggle with the changing dynamics.
When Mark and I first were engaged, his siblings were very sad by the prospect of him moving out. They loved me but that did not seem sufficient reason for Mark to move away. Joel lovingly suggested that I could move into the house and stay in the girl's room.
After the wedding, Rachel asked me why I didn't live with my family and Mark move back home. I pointed out that Mark and I were married so we were a family now and needed to stay together. Joel recognized after the wedding that Mark and I had to stay together. He told Grandma at Christmas that when they move into their new house Mark and I can move back in. I assume he figures their is enough space so we can have our own room.
Well with the recent engagement of brother-in-law Matthew to my good friend, Renae, Rachel had another suggestion. After Matthew and Renae get married, Renae can move in with me and Mark can move back home.
The views of marriage from a child's eyes.
When Mark and I first were engaged, his siblings were very sad by the prospect of him moving out. They loved me but that did not seem sufficient reason for Mark to move away. Joel lovingly suggested that I could move into the house and stay in the girl's room.
After the wedding, Rachel asked me why I didn't live with my family and Mark move back home. I pointed out that Mark and I were married so we were a family now and needed to stay together. Joel recognized after the wedding that Mark and I had to stay together. He told Grandma at Christmas that when they move into their new house Mark and I can move back in. I assume he figures their is enough space so we can have our own room.
Well with the recent engagement of brother-in-law Matthew to my good friend, Renae, Rachel had another suggestion. After Matthew and Renae get married, Renae can move in with me and Mark can move back home.
The views of marriage from a child's eyes.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Tragic Pet Deaths Part II
It seems in my both of my families (Vercler and Lindberg) pets tend to die in very tragic ways.
Last year, the Lindbergs obtained some tadpoles from a nearby pond. These little guys were fun to watch while they swam in their jar on a table in the kitchen. Since they were in the process of moving, a few storage boxes sat at the back of this corner table.
Well the little guys continued to grow. They were just beginning to get their legs. They had a tendency to jump out occasionally but usually were retrieved and placed back in their home. One late night they must of decided that little jar was no longer suitable. They jumped out of their jar. One of them landed squarely on the kitchen floor and was found dead in the morning. The other was nowhere to be found. The family looked everywhere in the kitchen, porch, living room, etc... to find this poor lost tadpole/little frog.
Well last week they discovered how the little tadpole met his doom. He had jumped in between the moving boxes. While moving some of the items around, they found his poor dried out body between the boxes. Death by moving box such a sad way for a tadpole to die.
Aquatic animals seem to have the most trouble in my family. My poor fish Epicurius (the one after Samson) died suddenly when I accidentally changed his water too quickly. It was too cold and hence put him in to shock. I didn't realize what I had done till I saw his little body floating to the top.
If you are an aquatic pet in my family, you're sunk.
Last year, the Lindbergs obtained some tadpoles from a nearby pond. These little guys were fun to watch while they swam in their jar on a table in the kitchen. Since they were in the process of moving, a few storage boxes sat at the back of this corner table.
Well the little guys continued to grow. They were just beginning to get their legs. They had a tendency to jump out occasionally but usually were retrieved and placed back in their home. One late night they must of decided that little jar was no longer suitable. They jumped out of their jar. One of them landed squarely on the kitchen floor and was found dead in the morning. The other was nowhere to be found. The family looked everywhere in the kitchen, porch, living room, etc... to find this poor lost tadpole/little frog.
Well last week they discovered how the little tadpole met his doom. He had jumped in between the moving boxes. While moving some of the items around, they found his poor dried out body between the boxes. Death by moving box such a sad way for a tadpole to die.
Aquatic animals seem to have the most trouble in my family. My poor fish Epicurius (the one after Samson) died suddenly when I accidentally changed his water too quickly. It was too cold and hence put him in to shock. I didn't realize what I had done till I saw his little body floating to the top.
If you are an aquatic pet in my family, you're sunk.
Friday, December 29, 2006
Christmas Card
One of the joys this year with my new husband, was sending out Christmas cards. Since we are trying to live on a modest budget, we opted for Christmas postcards. I tried to get to everyone but I'm confident I missed people. If you didn't recieve one and you would like one, just e-mail me and I'll drop it in the mail.
I have also attached the picture and short note for those who just want to view it via the blog.
If you didn't want to have anything to do with our Christmas card...my apologies are extended.
Greetings and love from Georgia,
As we approach this holiday season, we remember the many blessings of the past year. As you all know, we were married on September 24th. We had a wonderful wedding. Many thanks to our family and friends who worked to make the day special. It is a memory we will always treasure in our hearts.
Married life has been a joyous adventure thus far. Laura is adjusting to south quite well, enjoying her sweet tea and grits. She is still working for Press Ganey out of a home office. Mark is busy at CAT in addition to studying. He has been very diligent with his classes despite his busy work schedule. Our church family in Atlanta and the Mennonite Church in Meigs have welcomed us with open arms. We love working out at the local YMCA and grilling out on our back porch. Unfortunately we are unable to return to central Illinois for the holidays, but trust God will bless their holiday season. We are looking forward to holiday time with the Lindberg family here in Georgia.
Please let us know if you are ever driving to Florida or in our area. I-85 is only about 45 minutes away. Visitors are always welcome. We miss ya’ll and love you always.
Love ~ Mark & Laura
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Tragic Pet Deaths
"Today we gather together to celebrate the life of..." Death is one of the few certain things in life. Ironically it is a personal favorite of man-kind to try to fight and/or ignore. It seems our own mortality (especially those who are lacking the promise of eternal life) makes people very uncomfortable.
Now many of us will experience death prior to our own. Family members, friends, acquaintances, and of course beloved pets remind us of our own demise.
It is even a greater struggle when these deaths are a direct result of our actions.
My beta fish, Samson, died a tragic death in an unfortunate incident with a garbage disposal. I was replacing part of his water, a traditional method of bowl maintenance between cleanings. I was pouring it into the sink/garbage disposal my hand slipped a bit. Before I knew it, he had followed the current directly out of his bowl.
I tried in vain to retrieve him but my efforts were futile. To insure he wasn't just sitting at the bottom, I flipped the disposal on and my fish met his untimely death.
Another tragic story is when my husband's grandmother was cleaning out her canary cage. Birds can be awfully messy. Grandma decided that vacuuming out the bottom of the cage would be the most efficient least disgusting way to clean out the cage.
Well one thing lead to another and the poor little canary was sucked right into the vacuum cleaner. They quickly shut it off and opened the bag. The bird was dusty but still alive. He sadly though died the next day as a result of the trauma. It truly sucked the life out of him.
Nothing like the tragic deaths of our pets to remind us of our own mortality.
Now many of us will experience death prior to our own. Family members, friends, acquaintances, and of course beloved pets remind us of our own demise.
It is even a greater struggle when these deaths are a direct result of our actions.
My beta fish, Samson, died a tragic death in an unfortunate incident with a garbage disposal. I was replacing part of his water, a traditional method of bowl maintenance between cleanings. I was pouring it into the sink/garbage disposal my hand slipped a bit. Before I knew it, he had followed the current directly out of his bowl.
I tried in vain to retrieve him but my efforts were futile. To insure he wasn't just sitting at the bottom, I flipped the disposal on and my fish met his untimely death.
Another tragic story is when my husband's grandmother was cleaning out her canary cage. Birds can be awfully messy. Grandma decided that vacuuming out the bottom of the cage would be the most efficient least disgusting way to clean out the cage.
Well one thing lead to another and the poor little canary was sucked right into the vacuum cleaner. They quickly shut it off and opened the bag. The bird was dusty but still alive. He sadly though died the next day as a result of the trauma. It truly sucked the life out of him.
Nothing like the tragic deaths of our pets to remind us of our own mortality.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Dreaming of a White Christmas
Mark and I attended Victorian Christmas in Thomasville this past weekend. It is a holiday festival with food, song and dance performances, a living nativity, and host of other booths spread down 3-4 blocks of downtown Thomasville.
You can always tell which food vendors are the most popular by the length of the line at their booth. Mark and I enjoyed a bloomin' onion with sweet tea. We were going to get some pita chill packets but decided it wasn't worth the wait. We settled for a corn dog and a sausage with onions and green peppers.
After our meal, we enjoyed a lovely living nativity presentation with Matthew. Our seats were excellent, right in the front row. It was truthfully an accident as we just sat down on some empty bleachers to enjoy our dinner when we realized that soon the show was starting.
We decided to walk down the last block to see what else was offered before heading home. At the end their was the incredibly long line, even longer than the one for carriage rides through downtown. Upon closer inspection, it was a circle about 50 ft in diameter of fake snow.
SNOW in Georgia is as exciting as it gets apparently. Now to a Northerner it looked like pretty pathetic snow cone-ice type snow but to a Southern child, this is as close as they may get. Kids were running around, throwing it, making shapes with their feet etc...
We kind of giggled at the excitement of the people but realized Mark's youngest sister, Rachel, probably hadn't ever seen snow either. Different perspective isn't it?
Well as we still have our air conditioner on as it rather warm outside, it is the only snow we are going to see this Christmas.
You can always tell which food vendors are the most popular by the length of the line at their booth. Mark and I enjoyed a bloomin' onion with sweet tea. We were going to get some pita chill packets but decided it wasn't worth the wait. We settled for a corn dog and a sausage with onions and green peppers.
After our meal, we enjoyed a lovely living nativity presentation with Matthew. Our seats were excellent, right in the front row. It was truthfully an accident as we just sat down on some empty bleachers to enjoy our dinner when we realized that soon the show was starting.
We decided to walk down the last block to see what else was offered before heading home. At the end their was the incredibly long line, even longer than the one for carriage rides through downtown. Upon closer inspection, it was a circle about 50 ft in diameter of fake snow.
SNOW in Georgia is as exciting as it gets apparently. Now to a Northerner it looked like pretty pathetic snow cone-ice type snow but to a Southern child, this is as close as they may get. Kids were running around, throwing it, making shapes with their feet etc...
We kind of giggled at the excitement of the people but realized Mark's youngest sister, Rachel, probably hadn't ever seen snow either. Different perspective isn't it?
Well as we still have our air conditioner on as it rather warm outside, it is the only snow we are going to see this Christmas.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Think your life is rough...read "Dear Abby"
As an advice-columnist addict, I'll admit to gaining a bizarre pleasure reading the issues of others. I'm vehemently opposed to gossip but I do have that inherent human interest in the lives of other people. This fulfills this needs but since the writers volunteered the information and it remains anonymous, I avoid the evils of gossip.
I use this medium as an inexpensive form of therapy. Anytime that I'm worried my life is lacking direction or that I'm in a troubled state, my daily dose of these columns cures me almost in an instant. The concerns many of the writer's have I couldn't have even dreamed of, let alone experienced in my own personal life.
I'll concede many of these people are in these situations due to poor choices on their own part, but not always. Either way it is oddly enticing to read. Most of the issues deal with romantic relationships or issues with children, which of course has mounds of opportunity for disaster.
As far as what I'd recommend for reading the Chicago Tribune provides an excellent daily assortment
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/columnists/advice/
Now I often don't agree with the at least part of the advice given, so don't think I'm recommending this as a source for solving your own personal problems. Rather a study of the Bible will provide far more sound advice.
These are recommended for uplifting entertainment as you realize- "it's really not that bad."
I use this medium as an inexpensive form of therapy. Anytime that I'm worried my life is lacking direction or that I'm in a troubled state, my daily dose of these columns cures me almost in an instant. The concerns many of the writer's have I couldn't have even dreamed of, let alone experienced in my own personal life.
I'll concede many of these people are in these situations due to poor choices on their own part, but not always. Either way it is oddly enticing to read. Most of the issues deal with romantic relationships or issues with children, which of course has mounds of opportunity for disaster.
As far as what I'd recommend for reading the Chicago Tribune provides an excellent daily assortment
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/columnists/advice/
Now I often don't agree with the at least part of the advice given, so don't think I'm recommending this as a source for solving your own personal problems. Rather a study of the Bible will provide far more sound advice.
These are recommended for uplifting entertainment as you realize- "it's really not that bad."
Monday, November 27, 2006
Grilling salmon
As the weather in southern Georgia is beautiful this time of year, Mark and I have taken to grilling out on our back porch. Brats, burgers, steaks, chicken, and yes salmon are among the many delightful foods we enjoy.
Sunday evening is traditionally our "special" dinner evening. Steaks, salmon etc...are reserved for these times. We picked up some salmon at Publix Sunday afternoon and after a brief walk downtown decided to grill.
Salmon is a bit trickier to grill as the fillet falls apart fairly easy. We grill it with the skin on so that it holds together. Our grill is a poorly designed in that the top edge of the grate is level with the top of the grill. If you try to slide things to the edge, they are likely to fall off.
Mark was attempting to flip our salmon over. When he tried move his spatula under it, he accidentally shoved it to the back of the grill. This of course then caused it to fall off, all over the floor of our deck.
I had the privilege of watching him do this and of course got a huge laugh out of the deal. Mark is wonderful with the grill. It just as easily could have been me. I wish I had his shocked faced captured on camera. If I had a video of this, it would have won at America's Funniest Home Videos for sure.
We decided that we weren't going to have any meat and the rice and vegetables looked just lovely. Had we been grilling steak, we could have just picked it up, brushed it off and yelled 5 second rule! Salmon unfortunately spreads everywhere making it a lost cause.
Oh well. Cheers to thinner waistlines and funny memories!
Sunday evening is traditionally our "special" dinner evening. Steaks, salmon etc...are reserved for these times. We picked up some salmon at Publix Sunday afternoon and after a brief walk downtown decided to grill.
Salmon is a bit trickier to grill as the fillet falls apart fairly easy. We grill it with the skin on so that it holds together. Our grill is a poorly designed in that the top edge of the grate is level with the top of the grill. If you try to slide things to the edge, they are likely to fall off.
Mark was attempting to flip our salmon over. When he tried move his spatula under it, he accidentally shoved it to the back of the grill. This of course then caused it to fall off, all over the floor of our deck.
I had the privilege of watching him do this and of course got a huge laugh out of the deal. Mark is wonderful with the grill. It just as easily could have been me. I wish I had his shocked faced captured on camera. If I had a video of this, it would have won at America's Funniest Home Videos for sure.
We decided that we weren't going to have any meat and the rice and vegetables looked just lovely. Had we been grilling steak, we could have just picked it up, brushed it off and yelled 5 second rule! Salmon unfortunately spreads everywhere making it a lost cause.
Oh well. Cheers to thinner waistlines and funny memories!
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Christmas music
It has been a bit chillier down here in Georgia (in the 50's all week) so it has put me in the mood for Christmas. I tried to break out the CD's on our way up to Atlanta on Saturday, but I couldn't find them. Alas! On Monday morning I found them and have thoroughly enjoyed my music.
I promised Mark I wouldn't set-up any decorations until at least Friday, as the day after Thanksgiving is the official beginning of the Christmas season.
We are supposed to be back up in the 70's for the weekend. I don't know if this means I'll lose a bit of my Christmas spirit. I hope not. I figure though a tree and a nativity scene should keep me going.
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
I promised Mark I wouldn't set-up any decorations until at least Friday, as the day after Thanksgiving is the official beginning of the Christmas season.
We are supposed to be back up in the 70's for the weekend. I don't know if this means I'll lose a bit of my Christmas spirit. I hope not. I figure though a tree and a nativity scene should keep me going.
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Keeping in Touch
As I have moved down here to Georgia I'm now reliant on wireless technology to keep me not only in touch with my family and friends but with my coworkers as well. I have my personal cell phone and my work phone. This allows me to keep my lives separate.
Well I didn't use my work cell phone that often except on the road so I could handle the occasional neck cramps. Now that it is my primary phone for work, I find it necessary to invest in a headset. Being the lover of blue tooth that I am, I got one almost identical to the one for my personal phone.
The only real differences are it is silver versus black and that it sits on my left ear versus right. Now this can prove to be very interesting. Technically I can have a headset on each ear. Now I feel really nerdy when I do this, so I tend to avoid it but it is possible.
It's amazing the ways we have developed for people to find us when we sometimes just want to be left alone. Praise God for the off button.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Signs of the South
As a simple Midwestern girl, I recognized my perception of the world was very limited. I think in many ways I was very aware of how little I understood other parts of the country. While nothing I have seen down here is something that I hadn't heard about, seeing it and experiencing are different.
One of the more subtle differences are the signs. Let's begin with street signs. As my husband and I drove down "Lee White Rd" to get to "Dollar Store Road" on which his parents are building a house, we pass numerous cotton fields and pecan trees . He pointed to a place of business that had a sign on the building to discourage trespassing...
"Trespassers will be shot
Survivors will be shot again"
Now this is a place of business, not just some random person's residence.
I'm getting used to the confederate flags hung up on poles in the front of people's yards, as decorative license plates on the numerous Ford-150's that drive around town, or tattooed on the guy's arm in front of me at Wal-Mart. But I still do a double take.
As we drive up to Atlanta, you see the exit for "Peachtree City" and of course their is a Waffle House off of that exit, as there is at every exit on I-85. Now Mark and I are slightly addicted to the Waffle House, so we love how available they are.
But the greatest testament is that the beginning of our journey to Atlanta, we take "Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway." If that isn't a sign of the South, I don't know what is.
One of the more subtle differences are the signs. Let's begin with street signs. As my husband and I drove down "Lee White Rd" to get to "Dollar Store Road" on which his parents are building a house, we pass numerous cotton fields and pecan trees . He pointed to a place of business that had a sign on the building to discourage trespassing...
"Trespassers will be shot
Survivors will be shot again"
Now this is a place of business, not just some random person's residence.
I'm getting used to the confederate flags hung up on poles in the front of people's yards, as decorative license plates on the numerous Ford-150's that drive around town, or tattooed on the guy's arm in front of me at Wal-Mart. But I still do a double take.
As we drive up to Atlanta, you see the exit for "Peachtree City" and of course their is a Waffle House off of that exit, as there is at every exit on I-85. Now Mark and I are slightly addicted to the Waffle House, so we love how available they are.
But the greatest testament is that the beginning of our journey to Atlanta, we take "Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway." If that isn't a sign of the South, I don't know what is.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Moving, changing your name...the sequence of events
Moving to a new state and changing your name requires a fairly time-consuming process. The order of events in which you make these changes is critical to successfully completing the transition. Everyone told me what I needed to change, what I did not know was that order was critical.
First-Get married, you really can't do much until that is done
Assuming that was a given, here is the order of events
Wait until your marriage license arrives. You will need this to do anything.
Go to the social security office and file for a new card. You must bring I.D., your old card, and your marriage license.
Get your driver's license changed-You'll need to have (at least in GA) old driver's license, your birth certificate or passport, marriage license, proof of residency (utility bill, apartment lease, something that looks really official with your new address on it).
Change your auto insurance to your new state. You will need your spouse's information as well as your own.
Get new plates for your car. You'll need to have your title, registration, proof of insurance, and new driver's license.
Everything else: Bank account, YMCA membership and so on.
It takes a while but eventually you live where you are supposed to with the name you now carry.
Best wishes!
First-Get married, you really can't do much until that is done
Assuming that was a given, here is the order of events
Wait until your marriage license arrives. You will need this to do anything.
Go to the social security office and file for a new card. You must bring I.D., your old card, and your marriage license.
Get your driver's license changed-You'll need to have (at least in GA) old driver's license, your birth certificate or passport, marriage license, proof of residency (utility bill, apartment lease, something that looks really official with your new address on it).
Change your auto insurance to your new state. You will need your spouse's information as well as your own.
Get new plates for your car. You'll need to have your title, registration, proof of insurance, and new driver's license.
Everything else: Bank account, YMCA membership and so on.
It takes a while but eventually you live where you are supposed to with the name you now carry.
Best wishes!
Monday, October 23, 2006
Warranty
In an effort to improve my timeliness, I purchased a clock for our bathroom. Since all it really needs to do is remind me that I am late, I figured your basic Wal-Mart clock would be just fine. Well I hit a deal when I found a red clock that matches our bathroom perfectly for $3.78. Quite the find.
Mark was taking it out of the box to hang on the wall and he noticed the warranty information. How great of Wal-Mart, insure the quality of there products with a warranty. Upon reading the information, the pamphlet informed us to include $5 for processing when redeeming the warranty. The clock only was only $3.78 to begin with!!
I am hoping this manufacture makes other more expensive products that might justify a $5 handling fee for warranty redemption. If my clock breaks, I'm just going to get another one. Three cheers for another American's conspicuous consumption.
Mark was taking it out of the box to hang on the wall and he noticed the warranty information. How great of Wal-Mart, insure the quality of there products with a warranty. Upon reading the information, the pamphlet informed us to include $5 for processing when redeeming the warranty. The clock only was only $3.78 to begin with!!
I am hoping this manufacture makes other more expensive products that might justify a $5 handling fee for warranty redemption. If my clock breaks, I'm just going to get another one. Three cheers for another American's conspicuous consumption.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Buying office chairs
As Mark and I set up our home office, we decided this weekend that sitting on extra kitchen table chairs was no longer acceptable. Well Mark had to finish a final for school, so I ventured to Tallahassee Florida, to purchase chairs. Since I'm not very familiar with Tallahassee and we had a lot of Target gift cards, I went to Target right on the north side.
Well these chairs come in some large boxes and I was shopping by myself. They only had 2 left so I put them in my cart right away for 2 reasons.
1. So that no one else would take one and I'd not have enough
2. So they'd take up the space they'd need and I could stuff my other items around.
The first one I put inside my car. The second one I put on the bottom part of my cart. The top of the box was not secured properly so it flopped around. So instead I tried to turn it around. It didn't fit that way. So I had to take the first one out, put it on the ground. Remove chair number 2 and place it inside the cart. I then awkwardly put chair 2 underneath the cart.
(By the way down here in the south a cart is called a "buggy," since I'm still adjusting I'm going to keep calling it a cart.")
I then proceeded to push my chairs all over the store so I could make my other purchases. I used up all the gift cards as I completed my registers. It was quite the successful shopping trip.
Mark, being the wonderful husband he is, helped me carry our chairs upstairs to our apartment. I was quite proud of myself managing the chairs by myself and not falling down once. They are so much more comfortable than the kitchen table chairs.
Well back to work...
Well these chairs come in some large boxes and I was shopping by myself. They only had 2 left so I put them in my cart right away for 2 reasons.
1. So that no one else would take one and I'd not have enough
2. So they'd take up the space they'd need and I could stuff my other items around.
The first one I put inside my car. The second one I put on the bottom part of my cart. The top of the box was not secured properly so it flopped around. So instead I tried to turn it around. It didn't fit that way. So I had to take the first one out, put it on the ground. Remove chair number 2 and place it inside the cart. I then awkwardly put chair 2 underneath the cart.
(By the way down here in the south a cart is called a "buggy," since I'm still adjusting I'm going to keep calling it a cart.")
I then proceeded to push my chairs all over the store so I could make my other purchases. I used up all the gift cards as I completed my registers. It was quite the successful shopping trip.
Mark, being the wonderful husband he is, helped me carry our chairs upstairs to our apartment. I was quite proud of myself managing the chairs by myself and not falling down once. They are so much more comfortable than the kitchen table chairs.
Well back to work...
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Mrs. Lindberg
Well it is now official. I'm Mrs. Laura Lindberg. It is a huge pain to change your name but I figure that I am only doing this once, so it is worth it. We had a wonderful wedding and wish to thank our family and friends for all the love and support throughout our engagement and the beginning of our marriage.
The entire planning process and actual day was very fun and reasonably stress-free. It drew us closer as a family and I enjoyed it immensly. I wouldn't want to go back as it is wonderful having Mark around all the time but I will always remember the wedding with joy.
This is Mark and I with my siblings. I miss them very much and each played an important role in the wedding.
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