I elfed us

I saw Sandra do this on her blog and I thought it looked like fun.

I'm sure Mark will think I'm nuts....but he'll like it

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1411767104

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Caroling in Sandals

I didn't wear sandals when we went Christmas caroling on Sunday but I should have. It is notably warm here right now. As I read and hear about all the ice back in Illinois, I shiver. We have had unseasonably warm temperatures. It is about 80 degrees during the day. I had to turn my air conditioner back on.

Mark and I try to take walks in the evening to enjoy the beautiful weather. Winter is definitely a mild season here. This is a great reason for all you Yankees to come visit us down in the South.

The Singing

When we were down at the Lakewood Retreat (a Mennonite campground), we saw this sign that described a "Singing." Now those of us from the A.C. and other like worlds, we know what a singing is. Sometimes when I would mention I was going to a singing on a Friday night to my non-A.C. friends, they would be confused.

Well the below definition of a singing is not usually the one I would describe to them. I posted both pictures of the sign as one is easier to read expect where the flash is and the other is more blurry but doesn't have the flash (they are the same sign).

This does kind of weird me out thinking back to young group days. We aren't Amish but the general principles here could apply. I don't think I ever heard someone describe it in our church having that purpose. But then again...think College Weekend. It certainly is not the whole purpose for most people (a side purpose for some I'm sure). As for me...I really did and do just like to sing!

Adventures with Brian

As some of you may know, my brother Brian came to live with us for most of October and the first part of Novemeber. He works for Caterpillar in Pontiac, IL which is the parent facility to the one down here in Thomasville. We had lots of fun with Brian which included several trips to Atlanta, exploring Thomasville, and lots of Star Trek.
Here are some pictures with Brian

At Sonic

Alston Trading Post

Getting Boiled Peanuts at the Trading Post

I'm back

After being on the road to various places since the 12th of November, I'm happy to say I've returned home to sunny Georgia. I have many pictures which will become subsequent posts on the blog.

We had a wonderful time in Illinois for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately (or fortunately if you ask my mom) our flight was canceled coming home on Sunday night. We were able to fly out Monday morning (very early I might add) and we did make it home. But it was quite the adventure getting there.

I'll update more later but I thought I'd give a shout out.

O

Family Fun at Lakewood Retreat

In October of this year Mark, Lydia, Ben, and I traveled down to Florida to the Lakewood retreat. It is a gathering of the Florida churches at this camp/cabin area for a weekend of fun and fellowship. The weather was beautiful and we had a great time.

There were lots of little girls around who loved to play.

Human Foosball -Now this looks like a lot of very painful fun. You hold on to the pipes and the whole line has to move as one, just like in Foosball.

Our cabin the "Wren". Since this year they had less people that normal, we were able to stay in a fairly large cabin just the 4 of us.

Inside our cabin

The "Lindberg Family" (abbreviated version)

God's Protection

Last night, we (Mark, Brian, & I) were walking around Thomasville after dinner as it was a beautiful evening. If you've never been by our apartment (which applies to most of you), we live on a busy 4 lane road. It isn't impossible to cross by any means but you do have to pay attention. Also there is no side walk on our side of the road, you have to cross the street to walk on the side walk

As we were about home, I decided to cross the street just a little earlier than normal (I believe now it was a little push from the Holy Spirit). Just as we go into our drive way a motorcycle sped by us. None of us had heard it before it was right behind us. It was within a couple of feet from where we were standing. Had we crossed just a few seconds later, we could have easily been hit as he was going so fast we didn't see him till he was right there. I can still feel the blowing of my skirt.

After my heart slowed a bit, I really realized how tragic it could have been. We are so fragile that it would take almost nothing to end our life at any second. I guess God doesn't want the 3 of us home yet. I praise God for his protection over us last night.

Men are hard to buy for

I'm starting on my Christmas shopping as we are going to Illinois for Thanksgiving and I want to leave my gifts up there. I have my brother's name for Christmas and of course their is Mark. For the other women in my life, I have tons of ideas. For these two I'm struggling. Now this may be because I'm not male and therefore can't imagine what would be a "fun" gift.

I'm open to suggestions.

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.