My Sweet Sister

I was very impressed with the sweetness of my sister Diana. Last week her boyfriend Nick (sorry no picture available) was having a very rough week. They are both in Physician Assistant school and currently in their rotations. Diana is in Ft. Wayne and Nick is currently about 1 hour away in Marion.

Diana knew he needed cheering up. She had done that same rotation down in Marion a few months before. She called up her former preceptor (Nick's current) and told him of the situation. She was able to secure a couple of hours to take Nick out for dinner (not hospital cafeteria food). She looked up restaurants in Marion (not a large town) on the internet before departing.

She then drove down and surprised him. She said he shocked but pleased. I know she is really busy with school and such right now. Therefore I thought the gesture was very kind.

Holidays

As the holiday season is fast approaching, I'll have to admit it comes with much joy and some sadness. This year Mark and I do have the opportunity to spend the week of Thanksgiving up in Illinois. Last year due to Mark's limited vacation time, we didn't get to go back for any major holidays.

This year we are sacrificing Christmas to Thanksgiving. Now Thanksgiving is a pretty big holiday in my family. Both sides get together and enjoy a time of sharing and of course eating. The food is always great even if some what predictable. I'm excited about going back to Illinois even if I know I'll be sad when we have to leave. We are leaving on the last flight out of Bloomington to fly home. I know this is crazy but it was the only way to make the most of the day. I'm trusting God will get us back to Georgia.

Here are some pictures from last year's events that my family sent me in our absence.

My Immediate Family Christmas

Vercler Family Thanksgiving

House Alarms

When I stay with different people in my trips to South Bend, many of them have home security systems. I've recently been a pro at setting these systems off.

The first time I did it, it really wasn't my fault. I thought someone was home, they weren't and I didn't know the code. So of course after I enter 60 seconds later the alarm goes off.

This most recent time...it was my fault. I was talking on the phone when I entered the house. Instead of pushing "off" after the code, I did like I had in the morning and pushed "away." If I had been focused on the task at hand...it probably wouldn't have happened.

Now if you have never experienced the perils of a house alarm going off, I liken it to what I think alarms at the end of the world will sound like. So loud that you can't think straight. I think they protect your house from burglary as the criminals will be scared and deafened by the noise.

I did get them shut off eventually and no police showed up so it wasn't a huge deal. Just a lesson learned.

Tabasco Sauce

I had a very early flight with a fairly long lay-over on my recent trip to South Bend. In an effort to curb my hunger and entertain myself during my layover, I decided to have breakfast at one of the restaurants in the Atlanta airport verses just getting a quick bite to go. I should have got the quick bite to go.

As many of you know, I travel with carry-on luggage only. As I was trying to arrange it around my table, I accidentally bumped over a bottle of Tabasco Sauce. It then promptly broke and splattered all over tile floor. In addition it doused the ankle of a man wearing a very nice light tan suit at the table next to me. Needless to say he wasn't impressed (or very nice). I apologized profusely and the waitress helped him clean it.

They then moved me to another table (probably for my own protection) and to clean up the mess. To top it all off, I had an itch in my eye. I didn't realize I still had the Tabasco Sauce still on my fingers and of course it caused my eye to burn. I did get it rinsed out but it probably looked like I was crying over spilled Tabasco Sauce.

Oh well, such is life.

Surprise from Mark

Earlier this year I had seen this very cool watch on-line. I wanted to get it right away but I thought a little delayed gratification would be good for me, so I decided I'd ask for it at Christmas. The watch is part of a unique collection designed by Mindy. I was so bummed when about a month or so later it was labeled at "sold" on the site.


It turns out my honey decided to surprise me with the watch (hence why it was sold). He went to a lot of work to get it without my knowledge. He had it shipped to his brother's place so that I wouldn't find it in the mail. It is extremely difficult to get things by me here since I work from home. I was thoroughly impressed and happily surprised. He even called my mom at one point to make sure she wouldn't buy me a different one for Christmas like I had requested. I think I have one of the sweetest most romantic men on the planet.


Needless to say I really like the watch. If you are looking for a unique watch, I highly recommend you check out Expressions by Mindy I have had several friends who really like their watches and now I can speak for the quality myself. Mark made an excellent purchase.

Visiting our Representative

On our trip to Washington D.C., we stopped by the offices of our Representative and Senator to get gallery tickets to watch Congress in session. We throughly enjoyed watching the lawmakers and were some what taken aback by the casualness of these decisions.

On a more positive note, visiting our Rep's office was a lot of fun. Mr. Sanford Bishop's receptionist offered us drinks and snacks. She also let us go into his office and told us just to relax. Given how hot of a day it was, it did feel nice. It was a little weird but we got some fun pictures.

Smoke Alarm

On our vacation our smoke alarm was really sensitive. I was making dinner on Sunday evening. Just boiling some mac n' cheese when all of sudden the thing started going off. I wasn't even burning anything!

Well it is one of those electronically wired to the building alarms. This caused a great deal of concern for me as we may end up evacuating the whole building. Well we got it to quit but I was paranoid every time we cooked that we would set it off again.

My brother is here

My brother is down in Thomasville for a little while working on a project for Caterpillar. He just arrived yesterday. I feel bad because our air conditioning went out last night. He got to experience a very warm first night with us. The repair person hopefully is coming today. I'm stalking our maintenance man to make sure he is.

Other than that everything is good. We don't know how long Brian will be here. It will depend on how long the project takes. It may be several weeks. Mark & I excited to have him around.

Cold Shower

On our recent trip to Washington D.C. we stayed in a condo instead of a traditional hotel. We enjoyed this immensely as it gave us more space plus a kitchen, washer/dryer etc...

A funny thing happened our first couple of days. We arrived on Saturday morning and after a brief nap we decided to go exploring. We walked all over and after coming home hot a sweaty decided a shower was in order. When I turned on the water I messed around with the handle to find the hot and the cold. I thought the hot was all the way over to the left because when I turned it all the way over to the right it got even colder.

On that first day the water never did get very hot. It wasn't cold but it wasn't very warm either. Sunday morning I get up and do the exact same thing. This time the water isn't what I would call "cold" but it certainly wasn't warm either. I crawled back in bed after my shower and Mark commented how chilly I was. I told him that we needed to talk to the rental office soon about the "cold" water. Our water heater may need some fixin'.

The ever resourceful Mark tried out the shower again. He found out I had been turning the handle the wrong way. Our problem wasn't that we lacked hot water...rather our water never got very cold. I'm glad we figured this out on Sunday because I averaged two showers a day and I wasn't going for the "Jamaica experience."

Here is a picture of our bathroom in the condo.

Riding the Metro

During our trip to Washington D.C. we traveled around the city using the Metro system. We had wonderful passes that gave us unlimited use for 7 days. The train even allowed us to get out close to the D.C. Apostolic Church. With the help of a wonderful member, we were able to attend services our first Sunday there.

The Metro runs very regularly and can get you about anywhere you want to go. We had a good location to be clsoe to a station.

Here are some pictures of our Metro travels.

We're back!

Sorry I have been absent from the blogging world. We were in Washington D.C. and then I was in Boston. It didn't leave much time for posting. I'll post some pictures from our trip soon.

A fun story though. On my way home from Boston my flight to Valdosta was way overbooked. Since there were no more flights to Valdosta that night, they were offering some nice compensation for those who gave up their seat.

Well since I fly with only carry-on luggage and Mark picks me up, I just had them re-route me to Tallahassee. I only had to wait an extra hour and I still got the sweet compensation (400 Delta dollars).

It was a nice end to a great trip.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

It's 2 days until Mark and I take off on our belated honeymoon to Washington D.C. Last year when we got married, we didn't have enough vacation time from work to take a trip. So finally, almost 1 year later we are taking our vacation. Of course we are the nerds who are going to learn about history on our trip, but it should be a good time.

I will have internet access while we are away, so we may do some posting.

Have a good week!

Mopping the floor

The other evening as we were cleaning up from dinner, Mark commented that the kitchen floor needed mopped. I was aware of this and it was on my to-do list for the weekend cleaning. Well being the incredibly sweet honey he is, Mark decided it was going to bug him too much to wait. So you know what he did...


He got out the mop and did it himself. I appreciated it very much as I could now check something off of my list. Yipee!

Always been a phone person

I love talking on the phone. Since moving so far away from most of friends and family, this has been a huge benefit. I'm very thankful for Verizon "in" network and free nights/weekends, otherwise my phone bill would be terrible.

I also recently got a Vonage phone which has unlimited local and long-distance. I'm loving it as well. Now I can call some people whenever I want. I always try to be conscientious of my friend's cell phones. This way I don't use up their minutes.


Mark and I definitely survived our long-distance engagement through the telephone. We estimated we spent an average of 3 hours per day on the phone. We still talk that much since we've been married, we just do it in person now. When I'm on business trips we usually only are able to do 2 hours or so because I'm so busy. Mark's phone usage has notably dropped since we've been married.




So if you are bored and need something to do, feel free to give me a call. I am certainly a phone person.

Adventures with Amanda Part 2: Dinner with FJ

One evening during Amanda's visit we had some friends and family over for dinner. Just some people to hang out with Amanda. Being the terribly social bird she is, she enjoyed herself thoroughly.

FJ took this opportunity to give some cooking lessons. We had bacon wrapped chicken, fabulous mashed potatoes, asparagus etc... for supper. Then for dessert we had pound cake with berries and what Amanda & I lovingly refer to as "happy sauce."

A tribute to my brother "Fun was had by all"

Favorite thing

On a recent trip to South Bend, we were playing a little game at work where people asked another co-worker any random question.

For example:
What type of animal is most like you?
What is a childhood memory you have that defines your childhood?
Etc...


My question came from my boss as "What's your second favorite thing to do?"
I was a little surprised "Why my second?"
He smiled "We already know that spending time with your husband is your first?"

I guess it isn't any secret how much I enjoy just being with Mark.


What can I say? I love this man!

Adventures with Amanda

While Amanda was here, I did my best to show her some of the fun things to do in the South. Of course we had a low country boil and ate some of the best friend chicken in town.

Another popular favorite of mine in the Gulf Speciman Marine Lab in Pancea, FL. About 1 1/2 hour drive from Thomasville, this is the first "hand's on" aquarium I've ever been to. Depending on what they have in their tanks, you can touch all sorts of things from sand dollars and star fish to really large crabs.

Here is Amanda enjoying the touch tanks.

I always enjoy the horsehoe crabs. I would highly avoid them if you see one out on the beach. But in the safety of the gulf lab, these things are pretty cool.

Amanda-now that she has come and gone

My kid sister Amanda was here visiting us in Georgia. We had tons of fun. I'll try to post some pictures once I get them off my camera.

Amanda's birthday is tomorrow. She is going to be 16. I have to admit I'm a little sad, my baby is growing up. On the plus side though, this means she will be driving.



Some people ask if this frightens me or if I worry about her being on the road. Of course I worry about her in that I want her to be safe, but as far as young drivers go...she'll be just fine. Amanda is a pretty good driver for all accounts. The only way anyone learns to drive is...to drive.



Besides, my parents bought her a boat of a car. It is a 1990 Mercury Grand Marquis. This isn't an actual picture (as Amanda still needs to send me one) but it's something like this. Keep in mind this car is older than she is and only 1 year newer than the car I drove when I was 16. Not to make me sound old...but seriously. The funny thing about the whole ordeal is that this is the car she wanted. She picked it out and everything.

As long as she is safe. It sounds good to me. I'm just glad her and Dad found one they could agree on :).

Missing my friends and family

Sorry it has been so long since I last posted. Amanda (aka baby sister and short child) was here visiting for a little over a week. We had a fabulous time. I'll be updating my blog more with photos and memories of that. I truly enjoyed her visit but it does make me miss my family a little bit more. The day to day is fine. But sometimes after a wonderful visit, I get a little sad that I don't get to see them more often.

Then there are my friends who I see even less. There are even members of our wedding party who we haven't seen since the wedding. Part of the problem with moving to different places (Purdue, South Bend, Georgia) away from Gridley is that I make these wonderful friends then I move again. I now have a bunch of places where people who I miss live. All these places to visit, not enough time.

Oh well...Praise the Lord for friends and family. They have truly blessed my life in more ways than I can even fathom.

Stalking for customer service

Working for a company that mails out patient satisfaction surveys and promoting best practices to improve health care customer service, I have increased my expectations about what constitutes good customer service. I've also learned that to receive the service you need requires you be your own advocate.

Recently Verizon erroneously charged my credit card 75$. I had received no bill or notification of the charge. When I first called they couldn't even tell me that they knew my card had been charged. Needless to say it took at least 5 phone calls talking to as many as 4 people per phone call to get a proper credit. I also had a great deal of difficulty with a local doctor's office. A few years ago I got my leather coat replaced.

I have learned the following rules for effectively prying out excellent customer service from those who should willing give it.

Stalking for Customer Service- How to get your complaints sufficiently resolved.
1. Always keep records of everything. Keep all e-mails, bills, receipts, dates of phone conversations, names of people you talk to (especially those that are rude). As soon as you realize something is amiss, keep everything. This will prove valuable should you have to prove something to anyone.

2. Stick to the facts. Avoid at all costs inflating your claim or injecting emotional concerns. It only hurts your credibility. It never hurts to review your complaint prior to calling to make sure it is truly legitimate. You are likely to be caught with any falsehood (not to mention it is wrong) and emotional appeals yield little action.

3. Know what you want/deserve. Make sure you have clear expectations of how the issue will be resolved. Typically people will offer little up, be prepared to set the bar.

4. Put it in writing. Letters typically receive a better response than phone calls. Many organizations have policies about how written complaints are handled. With a phone call they'll just try to make you go away. A letter usually will get a manager's attention.

5. Be persistent. It may take several phone calls, letters or a visit. You need to demonstrate you are serious.

6. Leave NOTHING ambiguous. Always ask for a date when you can expect a response. When that date comes and nothing happens, call the same people back.

7. Take comfort in that at least you tried. You won't always be able to resolve issues completely, but it is our job as consumers to hold businesses to their promise.

Happy Stalking!

Sleeping in the bathroom

When children are growing up, sometimes communication with their parents struggles a bit. This issue becomes even more profound when the parents are awakened in the middle of the night.

All of us as children remember waking up in the middle of the night with an upset tummy. You waddle down to Mom and Dad's room because of course that is what you do. Mom and Dad's primary concern upon your arrival is that you don't vomit on the carpet.

Mark's younger brother one night woke up with an aching arm. He toddled down to his parent's room to seek a remedy (and likely a little sympathy). Dad was obviously groggy and must of misunderstand his chief complaint. He told the poor little tyke to go sleep in the bathroom. Even though the little guy was thoroughly confused, he was obedient. He promptly went to the bathroom and slept on the floor.

In the morning, Mom found him sleeping and inquired. He explained about his arm and that Dad told him to go sleep in the bathroom. Realizing very quickly what likely happened she assured him that it was just a misunderstanding. He did not have to sleep in the bathroom that night.

Fun parts of my job

One of the most common questions I get is in regards to my job. "What do you do?"

Well that is an interesting question. In my current position as a Knowledge Manager my primary activities revolve around researching best practices in patient satisfaction improvement and sharing them with our clients. Now of course my job also includes a wide variety of other activities as well.

One of the more entertaining ones occurred this past November. At our client conference in NYC we had our resource tables and booths each take on a Broadway play or musical to create a "Walk Down Broadway." This of course was terribly fun. With the release of Mary Poppins on Broadway just this past October, our team decided this was the perfect opportunity.

I firmly believe you can buy anything off the Internet and with the help of eBay I was able to procure a Mary Poppins costume.

So there I was in NYC at the Marriott Hotel dressed as Mary Poppins. I have included a picture for your amusement. Now please be forgiving of my tired face, after nearly 2 and 1/2 days on my feet straight...even Mary Poppins gets tired.

So my short stint as Mary Poppins is one of the many random aspects of my job.

My diligent husband

Over the past few months (pretty much since Jan 1), Mark has been working many many hours. The product he works with is in high demand and has had some production issues. This means that we've had very few weekends where he hasn't had to work. The first quarter of this year it also meant 10-12 hour days as well. This has thankfully tapered off a bit.

During this time of long hours and tiring days, Mark has maintained to keep up with his school work as well. He is close to completing his associates degree and will be moving on to his bachelors very shortly.

Everyday he comes home from work and studies for 3-4 hours. I'm so proud of his hard work and diligence. He also is careful to make a point of spending time with me. School keeps our days full but together, we'll get through it.

For those of you who don't know Mark, here is a picture of him on our recent trip to Chicago with my family.

Wishing you God's richest blessings

It is an exciting time in the world of my friends. In recent months, two very dear friends (bridesmaids actually) have had their engagements announced.

Katy Schlipf to Chris Stoller

&


Jolynn Schmidgall to Kevin Hodel

Each one is special to me and I'm excited to see how God has brought this change into their lives.

Marriage is a wonderful blessing. Yet it was in our singleness did these relationships even come to be. I wouldn't trade either.

Picking Blueberries

One of the joys of living in the South is the abundance of produce available. We have a year around farmer's market and I typically have an easier time getting produce than I did up north. They say only in the hottest times of the summer is there not something to harvest.

While we worked in the corn fields at home, young men down here may have a summer job of throwin' watermelons. When they harvest watermelons people walk down the rows picking up melons and throwing them to one another toward a truck. You build up quite the muscles doing that.

Well this past Saturday I met Mom and Dad Lindberg, Lydia and Caleb to pick blueberries. A lovely old lady named Miss Bea has an excellent blueberry patch behind her home. You can come pick fresh blueberries for 8.00 a gallon. Now if you have purchased blueberries in the store recently, you know this is quite the deal.

I only picked a 1/2 gallon and have come to realize I need to return and get some more. I think we are going Thursday or Friday. We had a dry spell earlier this year so the patch is a little thin and the berries not as plump according to Miss Bea. Yet they are tasty. The best part is she lets you eat as many as you like while you pick.

Melted Chocolate

If you have the inclination to mail me a present in the next few months, I highly recommend you stay away from food items. My company recently sent down a box of chocolates for my assistance with a project. Summers in Georgia are notably hot and humid.

Well they sat in the UPS guy's truck during the entire Memorial Day weekend. Needless to say they were a melted chocolate mess.

If you have the urge to send us anything...things that can stand extreme heat are highly recommended.


(Note: This is not a solicitation for gifts but for humorous purposes only)

For the birds

Throughout the warmer seasons of the year, all the birds that fly south for the winter return to their native lands. They leave us little reminders of their presence by the chripping, the flocks in the sky, and of couse the lovely droppings on your car.

While scrubbing your car is never fun, I've realize their are worse things. During my parents trip to Georgia in March, we were having lunch by a lake at a wildlife refuge. Commenting on the number of birds in the area, my dad was quickly reminded of their presence. They kindly sent him a present of dodo straight into his mouth. I was impressed my Dad's composure and restraint during this unfortunate incident.

Another gift was bestowed on us while Mark and I were taking wedding pictures. We were in an alley in downtown Bloomington. Looking up at the high buildings we saw a couple of birds look over the edge. They then promptly turned around and dropped one down. Thankfully it did not hit Mark or I in our wedding clothes, but the camera and another piece of the photographer's equipment was not so fortunate.

While the birds may feel they are sharing with us, those two experiences were definitely for the birds.

Salami and Ice Cream

One of my favorite bridal showers last year was with some friend's from Chenoa. These women have been a part of my life as long as I can remember. Many have been like alternative parents for me.

One of the games at the shower allowed me to ask the group about something they learned or experienced during their first years of marriage.

One lady, I'll call her Jane, shared the funniest story. When her and her husband, George, were first married he did all sorts of funny things. One night as they were crawling into bed he brought with him a stick of salami and a bowl of ice cream. Jane looking appalled didn't know what to do. His response was "Oh, I'm sorry. Do you want some?"

Smoke

As you may or may not know, the southeastern part of Georgia and north Florida has been plagued by wildfires in the Okefenokee Swamp. Up until recently we had not been personally effected. Well..my brother-in-law, Jake, is a fire fighter and is now gone for a 2nd time to fight them but that was as close as we had been.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/28/national/main2738548.shtml

Well apparently we've had some that are a little bit closer than before. Saturday and Sunday Thomasville and the surrounding area was covered with a smoky haze. It was like you were 1 block away from someone burning leaves...everywhere you went. It made for a fog on the road, prompting us to turn on our lights.

We speculate a change in the wind brought us the smoke. Well now the wind has changed again and the smoke has lifted.

I feel sorry for those who are close to the fire. Please pray for rain to help put out the fire and cure our definite drought.

Cooking

Before I was married, I already enjoyed cooking. I loved inviting people over to my apartment for a meal of any sorts. So when I did become a wife, I was already reasonably prepared in that area. Mark is anything but picky so he typically likes what I make.

So far I haven't put the wrong ingredient in or left something important out. The only trouble I have had it burning veggies. I bake cookies just fine. My meat is typically moist and tender. Yet for whatever reason, actually I know the reason is because I'm like my mom and I get distracted, I have burnt two pans of vegetables.

Now the only thing I'm doing is boiling a small pot of peas or mixed veggies for dinner. Nothing overly complicated. This is part of the problem. I put these on the stove and walk away. Typically to work on my computer. It isn't until more time has passed than I thought do I realize all the water has evaporated and my veggies are burned to the bottom of the pan.

Fortunately they aren't very expensive, Mark just laughs at me and we try again.

I'm glad so far it has only been burnt veggies.

In an instant

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.

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 :).

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. :)

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."

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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."

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!

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

Mr. and Mrs. Mark Lindberg

Here is another wedding photo :)
mark and I

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...

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.

Moving down south

All my worldly belongings have arrived in Georgia. Mark tells me that I'm out one lamp and one bookcase that were damaged in the move. Since these were some of the cheapest items I owned (probably why they broke) I wasn't too disappointed. I'm pretty sure we didn't pack them very well.

I'm going to make a little plug for ABF U-Pack movers if you are ever going across the country. I was able to ship all my stuff down for less than what renting a u-haul and driving it down would have been. It was great having Mark + brother-in-laws receive it down in Thomasville.

The trailer was really clean and nice. So simple to use and now I don't have to drive an annoying truck all the way down there.

It's less expensive than full-service movers because you pack and load it yourself. The coolest part is that they don't charge you by weight. Instead it is by running feet in the truck. My move took 7 ft. A lot of movers can pull one on you saying your belongings way more than they do. Or they will quote you for a weight that is way too low. I have no idea how much my stuff weighs. I just know that my sofa is heavy.

You can visit them at www.upack.com. Seriously...long distance moves that you need to do inexpensively, this is the way to go.

I'm off to GA to unpack and set-up our new home. I'll be working on my southern accent.

Can 8-year olds to go prison?

At a recent lunch meeting, my co-workers and I were sharing stories about our childhood. I have a coworker "Mindy" who has a very energetic view of life and tends to succumb to spontaneity.

Traditional marketing practices in the late 60's and early 70's often included sending potential customers free samples via mail of a newly introduced product. I'd venture that many a child was enthralled by these new items as Mindy was. Not really understanding the concept or purpose of mail, daily she would check the mailbox to see if any new samples had arrived.

One summer day a fabulous new item arrived. She doesn't remember exactly what that item was but it was fabulous. She excitedly opened the package and used the sample. Now wouldn't another one be great. She looked around her neighborhood and noticed that every house had a mailbox. They would all have these samples too! She quickly took her bag and proceeded to remove the mail from everyone's box. Now most of it was just worthless paper, which she promptly hid underneath a tree in the backyard.

That evening many neighbors noticed the lack of mail in their boxes. Typically neighborhood gossip help identify the culprit. Being a less than logical honest 8-year old, she quickly denied her crime. The threat of federal prison from her neighbor lady caused such fear in her that she continued to deny her involvement for several days.

Finally after it became apparent this issue was not "going way" she surrendered her bag of mail. The neighbors promptly dumped it out on the table and claimed their mail.

She still wonders...is that neighbor lady right...could I go to federal prison for this?

Here is the picture

Well yesterday I had trouble with Blogger not wanting to upload my pictures. I figured I'd give it a shot today. It worked!! I hope this picture brings a smile to your face. I'd say we are one happy crew.

Doesn't he look happy?

The weekend of July 22-23 my parents and I had the privilege of flying down to Atlanta, GA to spend some quality time with the Lindbergs. Our families are getting along splendidly. So much that part of the Lindberg fam came over to my parents house yesterday sans Mark just for dinner. Some of my cousins and grandparents also came. I had to leave at 7:30 to get back to South Bend but apparently everyone else stayed till almost 10. I'm so thankful that this bond was so easily created. I knew I had a fabulous family, now I have an even bigger fabulous family.

I have included one of my favorite pictures from the weekend. It is Rachel, Mark's youngest sister, and I showing Mark that we love him. He looks pretty content doesn't he?

Ok... so I was going to upload this cute picture of Rachel and I with Mark. But Blogger isn't up for it so you'll just have to take my word for it that it is pretty cute. He has such a loving family that I feel blessed to become a part of.

Avoid Generic Ice Cream

I'll admit that I'm a naturally frugal person. I will look at the display labels at Kroger that inform me of the per unit cost of an item to determine which size gives me the best deal. I've learned grocers have fooled much of the American public that "bulk" hence "bigger" is better. I discovered that I could pay $3 for 1 40oz jar of peanut butter or buy 3 16oz (48oz) jars of peanut butter for the same price. Natural inclination would say that the "bigger" jar would offer the better deal. I also discovered this recently buying 4 quarts versus an entire gallon of Gatorade.

My careful spending has also led me to try many generic items. Many of these things have worked out wonderfully. I've found products I like equally well or even better at a lower price. These are typically your staples or basic items. Items that exist in nature make wonderful generic products. Items that are man-made have a lot more room for error. It is sometimes best just to spend the money for the name brand product.

Below is a list of products I find equally good
Milk-It is really all processed the same way, who cares if it is "Prairie Farms"
Applesauce-Kroger Brand is excellent
Oatmeal-It's basically just oats
Pasta-They've got this one pretty well down
Hamburger

Things that you should just buy the name brand
Ice Cream-FMV Chocolate is more "ice" than anything else
Oreo-type cookies-They have the name brand recognition, just go with it.
Crackers-I'm not up for stale cardboard

Whatever your preference, take a moment to check out all your options. It isn't a good deal if you don't like it. $1 saved doesn't feel like much when you are missing the smooth running of creamy chocolate ice cream down your throat.

How we define ourselves

Working in a Knowledge Management Department and interacting frequently R&D, we are not the "cool" kids of the company. While well respected for our work and contribution, if you are looking for those to spice up your party people from our department are not at the top of that list.

Now we enjoy each other's company immensely and are very content to create our own protected social circle. Hence we are "cool" to ourselves that is enough. We embrace the brainy, data-oriented, researchy image assigned to us.

As we strive for knowledge and understanding, we work very hard to make sure define ourselves correctly. We used to throw around descriptors such as "dork" or "geek" at random, assuming they meant a simple affinity with scientific and technical pursuits at the sacrifice of social popularity.

Last year R&D hired a naturalized citizen from Croatia, whose first language is Croatian. He expressed some concern with the labels we had assigned our team. His unwillingness to adopt them made us question the meaning. Well upon further investigation we discovered what those words truly mean. It is humbling to have a non-primary English speaker teach you your own language.

I have included links to dictionary.com with the definition of each word.

Dork

Dweeb

Geek

Nerd

I can handle the "dweeb" and "nerd" as they match the original intent of our jest. I'm probably not going to use "geek" or "dork" again in the near future. While old habits die hard, I want my message to be clear.

Unblinding Love

As many have accused me in the recent months of having my head in the clouds, I've had numerous opportunities to reflect how love changes the way we view the world. It certainly has it's effects but I challenge the notion that love clouds our vision.

"Love is blind" is a popular expression to convey how often new love allows us to suppress/diminish our beloved's flaws that of course everyone else sees clearly. I challenge this notion. Love doesn't blind me from another's faults, but rather helps me put them in the proper perspective. It's not that I completely miss my beloved's flaws, but rather I focus on the qualities that make him wonderful.

If we examine how the Bible describes love, patient, kind, beareth all things, believe all things, endureth all things, etc...we discover that the focus is on lifting up the person we love. Christ who showed the epitome of love chose to focus on the soul of man not the corruption. He shed his blood and died on the cross to rise again, to cover our faults so that we can experience the love of God. Nobody would argue that Father sees very clearly and his love is certainly not blind.

It is man's corrupted state that assumes reality is only that which is negative. We obviously aren't seeing clearly if we don't pointedly identify the bad. I argue those who only complain or seek the negative have their eyes clouded by sin and selfishness.

Love isn't blind, it just looks at someone the way God does, as a man/woman with an eternal soul.

Mixing of tastes

Eating is a pleasurable necessity. In times of financial hardship, food is viewed as a mandatory expense even if it is very primitive. Due to the enormous wealth most American's enjoy, food is no longer about sustenance but pleasure. Food is expected at celebrations of all sorts. To be truly admired, the selection must abound with different tastes and textures.

While all people enjoy some level of variety, how this variety is experienced in a single meal has two variations. We have the separatists and the mixers.

Separatists - People who prefer to eat all of one item on their plate then proceed to the next item. My brother and my fiancee are both separatists . Maybe they'll start with their meat, then the vegetable, then eat their bread and so on. The next item will not be started until the first one is completed. Separatists usually do a very good job of cleaning their plate. Some will only take each item from the serving dish as they are ready to consume it, reducing the likelihood they will dish up more than they can eat.

Mixers-Those who like to combine tastes and textures throughout the meal. I'm definitely a mixer. I'll take a bite of a hamburger then some baked beans followed by a bit of salad. The problem is my eyes are often bigger than my stomach and I take too much. Since consuming all my food does nothing to help the starving children in Uganda, I choose to waste some food before I'm willing to add it to waistline. I love the switching from sweet to salty then back again. I chase pretzels down with a can of Diet Pepsi. Usually having a bit of the pretzel still in my mouth when I fill it with that sweet flavor.

Now separatists can eat casseroles and other pre-combined foods, the foods are then just considered a single item. Mixers, like myself, may like casseroles less because it removes some of the personal creativity behind the combining of foods. I mean frozen pizza dipped in applesauce, who would have thought it could be so good.

However you experience the pleasure of food the only caution is to remember- there can be too much of a good thing!

luke warm pizza and chocolate

Due the craziness of my work life and some mild distractions coming from my personal life, I've decided this week to use my time efficiently and work through lunch. Doing this allows me to come into the office a bit later (because I'm up late on the phone with this amazing guy) and leave a bit earlier (so I can hit up the gym before I talk to aforementioned amazing guy).

We've had several people bring in food to the office. Nothing like spreading the unhealthy eating habits to those you work with. As I type this blog over my "lunch" break I'm snacking on luke warm pizza (I just didn't feel like getting up to warm it) and following it with a few chocolates from the S.B. chocolate factory that my secretary brought in. Now these things are fabulous...I wish I really didn't like them right now. Besides the fact the sugar wacks out my blood sugar and I get a bit lightheaded...it just doesn't sit well with me.

My boss also brought in cheese and crackers yesterday. I love crackers and the brie he had was fabulous. I really need to be stocking up on the fruits and veggies. I ate an apple at 2 out of shear remorse.

The only kudos I can give myself is that I'm not chasing this down with a can of Diet Pepsi for the caffeine boost. I know it is is vicious cycle. If I ate better, I'd feel better, etc...but I'll get there. Probably not for another 89 days but eventually.

Well I'm going to get some pretzels now...catch you later.

knock at my door

Last night while on the phone with Mark (a very common thing for me to be doing if not at work, I had an unexpected knock on my door. Since I wasn't really expecting company and didn't want to interrupt my conversation I quickly sushed and tip-toed over the peep hole.

I peered outside to see a above average height gentleman carrying a red pillow standing in front of my door. I didn't recognize him at all. As I had just come back from a run and wasn't particularly dressed for company, I quickly and quietly returned to my bedroom and spoke in hushed whispers till I was sure he was gone.

This is the most unfriendly I have ever been in my life. Mark wasn't very thrilled at the idea of me opening the door to a strange man (protective side of him coming out :)) so I refrained. I'm not confident that I did the right thing. I just hope he figured out where he was going.

If I wasn't his fiancee...

I'd probably be accused of being his stalker.

This was the comment my co-worker made to me regarding the recent explosion of pictures decorating my office. Mark and I may only have a few pictures together, but I do have most of them placed somewhere in my office. I'll admit this causes frequent distractions at work, yet I'm strangely comfortable with this.

I have included Mark and I's first picture together in the airport at Mo Bay. (Special thanks to Perry K. for this shot).

I'll admit my day hasn't been the most productive. Thankfully I was super productive at work yesterday which will compensate for my reduced output today.

I have to publicly apologized to all of my previously engaged friends who I thought were unnecessarily ditzy during this chaotic time. I'm worse than anyone I've ever interacted with and I hope that they'll find it in their hearts to forgive me.

Stories of a 9-year old drama queen

I have a good friend "Jenny*" who has a 9-year old daughter "Carrie*" who is the epitome of a drama queen. She has the big eyes, pouty lips, and lungs to blow the 3 little pigs house down. Carrie is rather opinionated (which she certainly has inherited from Jenny), yet her positions on issues don't always follow the soundest logic. This may be partially a factor of being 9 and the other part for her to be right you must be wrong. Hence she has to pick something completely outlandish.

Recently at soccer practice, the coach instructed the players to find partners for passing practice. Carrie of course is the coolest kid, so patiently waited for her partner to find her. When her intimidating stance failed to draw anyone, she pranced over to Jenny with a sincere pout.

"I can't practice, I don't have a partner". Jenny noted that there were several little boys still left that also didn't have a partner. She less than gently pointed this out to Carrie. "Go ask him over there."

"MOM!!" Carrie whispered loudly. "The only people left are boys and they are all ugly."

Well now how does one even begin to combat that. The coach did so rather swiftly with the "You don't find a partner and practice quickly, you won't be playing." But that really didn't address the crux of the argument. Then again, I'm not sure what would.

Carrie decided she could practice with her eyes "half open" and it wouldn't be that big of a deal.

Oh well. Another issue solved in the life of a 9-year old drama queen.

*names are changed because some things are best identified only in person

Pride goeth before the fall

Whenever I'm going to be gone for an extended period of time, my office colleagues fish-sit my beta Russ. I align the experience of leaving children at Grandma's house. Russ of course can do no wrong and he is the most interesting thing there ever was. "Do I feed him enough?" they ask.

When it was time to take him home after my trip to Chicago in March, most of the office was quite sad and protested his leave. After many promises to be good to him, they finally allowed him to come home. To fill the void, Molly purchased her own beta, Willy.

Now Russ was 2 years older than Willy. He was not a spry but certainly had great fish wisdom. Molly wanted to test out the "fighting fish" idea behind the beta. She placed their two tanks right next to each other. Willy being the energized youngster flared his fins and prepared for battle. Russ being well seasoned did little to raise a flipper. Willy continued to circle and attempted to attack Russ. Molly decided that while this live "animal planet" was interesting, it may not be the best way to care for my fish. She then returned Russ to the other office, out of Willy's view.

Willy was very annoyed at this as his hot pursuit was interrupted. Molly comes back 2 hours later to find Willy had disappeared, fish bowl still on her bookcase. Now fish don't typically "wonder off" so she assumed one of our office mates had played a practical joke. After hounding everyone and being met with sincere denials, she began the search of the floor around the book case.

There she found poor Willy flopping on the floor. Apparently in his pursuit of Russ, he forgot he was a fish that needed water. He jumped out of his bowl only fall behind the book case. He was still flopping when Molly returned him to the bowl but his injuries were too substantial. He died a few hours later.

Russ on the other hand is still calmly swimming in his bowl enjoying a great deal of admiration and affection. He is completely oblivious to his predator's demise. Had Willy humbled himself and swam away from the fight, he may still be with us today.

Rest in Peace Willy.

Love of my Life

It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you the love of my life Mark :). Believing God has called us together, we are anxiously anticipating a September wedding. I want to praise God for his direction in bringing us together. Mark is a wonderful godly man. I could type pages on all the things that make him amazing but I wouldn't want to embarass him.


Hope you all have a wonderful week!
Best wishes
~ Laura

FOUND: BLACK DRESS

On my recent trip home, lo and behold I opened my closet and there hung my dress. I'm confident that it was really hiding from me. It was just waiting till I publicly pleaded for assistance before coming home. It is now safely back where it belongs.

:)

MISSING: Black Dress-Reward offered

DESCRIPTION: One sleeveless polyester/spandex/rayon blend black dress. Typically worn with a bell sleeve light blue rayon shirt. Reward: I'll come up with something, most likely related to food as a sincere thank you.

I've come to the conclusion I'm either losing my mind or at least my clothes. I have this black dress that I wear with a blue top. I was wanting to wear that outfit to church the other day. I found the blue top, but no dress. What complicates this is I only wear the blue top with the dress. The two pieces are never worn independently. I can't even begin to fathom what has happened to the dress. The last time I remember wearing it was the beginning of February. I know I wore home from church that day. I don't believe I've traveled with it anywhere nor left at my mom and dad's.

If you have seen my black dress let me know. It floors me that I've lost this thing. Potentially it is just hiding in my closet somewhere.

Holiday decorations

As the seasons change, we have the opportunity to celebrate holidays. I enjoy celebrations as they are often excuses to spend time with those I love. I struggle though with this "decorating for the holidays" thing. It isn't the putting up of decorations or even taking them down that troubles me. Rather is what to do with the pointless dust catchers during the rest of the year.

Currently in my office I have star ornaments hanging from my ceiling, an Easter egg in a pail on my desk, and a nativity scene by my computer. I could put them in one of my desk drawers along with the Christmas stacking boxes and some packing tape but the drawer doesn't shut without a firm push. So I opt for the eclectic look in my office decorations.

When I took my Christmas decorations down in my apartment in February this year, I then shipped them back to Mom and Dad's house for storage. I don't want to waste what little storage space I have on a fake Christmas tree.

Thankfully with the upcoming spring holidays (Mother's Day, my birthday, etc...) we appreciate the handiwork of God as he revives the earth and avoid tarnishing it with flashing lights. I'm thinking about taking the minimalist approach when it comes to holiday decorating. While Christmas towels may make me appear more domestic, I think using a basic kitchen towel to dry my dishes really is.

As if money could buy happiness

Last night at the gym, I was looking for a decent magazine to read while using the stair-stepper. Due to my aversion to the trash available in typical "female" magazines such as Cosmo or Glamour, I opted for Money magazine. Everyone is at least completely dressed.

Yet as I turned through the pages, I recognized that a lot of the material was just as evil as that which appears in the fashion magazines. Every article discussed ways to increase cash flow, maximize your portfolio, avoid paying extra taxes etc... Now individually each of these is not inherently evil. It is the focus on the gain which corrupts us. For money is not the root of all evil but the love there of. I find myself in my own inner war after reading this material. "Am I saving enough?" "Should I be pursuing a better job?"

Every time God quietly whispers in my heart "What more do you need? Aren't I enough? When have I failed you?" I'm instantly humbled at my selfishness and lack of trust. God has more than supplied my need. To much is given, much is required. I'm responsible for using whatever I have to his glory.

As Christians it is easy to caught up on the "more is better" mind set that is so prevalent in America. Pay raises are celebrated. Promotions lauded as one climbs the corporate ladder. Those the most admired in society come not from those of strong moral character but those who have the greatest material wealth. We take time away from the ones we love to provide "for their needs." While work is necessary and God warns us not to be slothful or lazy. We can take this charge to a great extreme. Last I checked most children would prefer mom or dad spent that extra hour reading them a story then buying them the computer program that could read it to them.

Success is related to the size of your portfolio. While I will always advocate financial responsibility, I don't want to fall in the trap of constantly looking for more. It is sometimes more difficult to be content when you have more than enough. We forget to be thankful that our needs are met and hence think that happiness will only come at the acquisition of more.

I challenge the idea that America's material wealth is a truly a blessing. Blessings are gifts of God that draw us closer to him and bring glory to his name. God's provision to meet our most basic needs is the blessing. I think all that is above that can easily become our greatest curse.

Back in the office

2 weeks...I've decided that I need to make all business trips at least 2 weeks long. I just returned from Indianapolis with a huge stack of paper and an inbox crowded with e-mails. The trip was only 3 days long. I knew I was busy most days and I'm beginning to understand why...all I do is return e-mail and answer questions.

When I'm out of the office for a week or longer, most people find out the answers to their questions through another source. Only 3 days...Especially the last 3 days of the week, people are willing to wait until I return. I should tell people I'm coming back a day later than I am. It may give me a chance at catching up.