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.