Missing You

Things You Learn While Moving House

Our little move is accomplished! We are settling into our new home, and loving the convenience of living within walking distance of the university and of my new Coffee Shop Job! The week before the move, DH was up north on his Grand Canoeing Adventure, while I was working and packing and cleaning and generally feeling rather sorry for myself. Dennis's parents graciously endured the 11+-hour roadtrip from Tennessee in order to help us with the actual moving, so that part of the process was a lot faster and a lot more fun. Anyway, I've learned a few things during the process. I know many of my readers have done this several times over, but I thought I'd share anyway.

1. Things that you can't see still get dirty. You just can't see the dirt. I'm talking about the top shelf of the broom closet, tops of cabinets, the tops of fan blades, and other Things That Are Really, Really Far Up. Generally anything "top."

2. A husband is very useful when it comes to cleaning Things That Are Really, Really Far Up. Perhaps this is why many women are attracted to taller men -- they subconsciously realise how practical said men may be in future?

3. I am a fan of not buying expensive, strange-smelling cleaning solutions -- I pretty much use ammonia, baking soda, vinegar or lemon juice, and plain old dish soap for most chores. When it comes to really tough cleaning jobs, my mom's favorite cleaning secret is powdered laundry soap -- it's gritty and works as an abrasive as well as a cleanser. Great for grease in the kitchen, tub rings, etc. DH and I, alas, buy liquid laundry detergent, so I was thrilled to find an alternate scrubbing mixture online that worked really well in my bathroom. Just make a paste of salt, baking soda, and water -- use that to scrub bathroom surfaces, then wipe clean with a solution of water and lemon juice. Shiny!

4. With that said, last week I learned How To Use Oven Cleaner. That stuff is definitely not "green," but boy, does it work. I feel like a grownup now!

5. Moving is a GREAT opportunity to clean out the clothes closet. Shoes that are super-cute but a half-size too big? Out. Jeans that I may be able to wear ... after a couple of kids ... sometime after the next four years? Out. Very nice, grown-up looking tailored shirt that fits beautifully and just isn't my style at all? Out. Now I'm just wondering -- why did I hang onto those for so long? I haven't grown an inch in seven years. I think it's time to stop holding onto stuff "for next year"!

6. Pack books in small boxes. Sometimes you can ask your local liquor store when they get shipments and they will let you have some of their empty boxes. They are small and sturdy, although perhaps not the best option for Baptists :)

7. DH and I own thirteen and a half boxes' worth of books. In this house. I still have at least six boxes' worth at home (and yes, I made sure to write my name in permanent marker inside the covers!). Who cares if we're sleeping under his grungy college-days quilt and eating off a card table? We are rich!

8. People are WONDERFUL. DH's parents ... all the church families and the friends who offered boxes, packing paper, time and muscle ... I still have thank-you notes to write! Moving was a chance for us to be shown a lot of practical love, and I am so grateful at the people God has put into our lives! Again, we are rich!

9. Being separated from DH for a week was pretty rough -- I have a lot of admiration for my friends who are military wives -- but it was a great opportunity to be reminded of how grateful I am to be a part of this family, and how committed I am to "us," even though that looks a lot different from my default "me" mode. I love my husband!

Thanks to everyone for their prayers and good wishes while we were moving. I love you all!

IT'S ALIVE.

IT LIVES

... the blog, that is, thanks to y'all (you know who you are). We'll see how it goes! I could treat you all to an in-depth and inconclusive analysis about What I Think About That and Why I Decided To Write Anyway, but I'll spare you that and just try to update instead :) In that spirit, I give you -- The News.


IT MOVES

... the Pritzel family, that is. On June 7th, to be precise! (Address details will be sent to friends and family after the move, of course!) We are super excited to be moving into a new apartment complex that is right across the street from Dennis's university. No more scraping and shoveling in the black, bleak winter mornings! Even better for me (since DH is the one who did most of the scraping and shoveling, good man that he is), we will be much closer to some friends from school, AND the apartment complex is within walking distance from my new job, about which I am pleased to say

IT ROCKS!

OK, that's pretty immature. But I do really enjoy my work for a coffee shop about a block from DMU. I am so grateful to have found another job, and one that suits me so well. I enjoy the customer service part of the job, and I especially love driving the espresso machine. On my barista shifts, I feel like a daring space pilot -- we actually have a gleaming stainless-steel bank of four automatic espresso machines lined up, and they look and sound very sci-fi. Very impressive. I am pleased to say that I know the difference between a cappuccino and a macchiato, and can make a mean cafe mocha -- the recipe, of course, is a company secret ;)

IT'S WARM!!!

We are blessed (at the end of May, seriously!) with warm temperatures and high humidity! It truly feels like summer is on the way, and I am finally comfortable. YAY!!! I am also super-excited that Dennis has completed his first year of med school. He has worked so hard this year -- I am really proud of what he has accomplished, and can't wait to see what he will do in the next few years together. In the meantime, he has a few weeks of absolutely NOTHING to do. Except, of course, participate in a Grand Adventure In A Canoe, and haul about 1600 boxes of books to our new place :)

We love y'all! See you soon!

Why Blog??

By now you have noticed the Deadness of the Blog. You may have written me an email. You may be about to give up and delete your bookmark.

I have a question for you.

To what end the blog?

I began it as a way to keep faraway friends and family updated. After a year or so, though, I've noticed how much my blog is simply a forum for me to indulge my melancholy self-absorption. And I'm not even funny! I don't have a lot of wisdom or grace to share (for that, visit my mom -- she will make you laugh AND make you think!).

Not Cool. Not helpful to other people, not helpful to me, certainly not to the glory of God!

If I do continue writing regularly, I think I need a Goal or a Purpose that is bigger than How I'm Feeeeeeeeeeling. Or, maybe, a narrower focus (this would be easier if I could take gorgeous photos or had some obvious skill besides navelgazing and regret).

I would welcome your thoughts and suggestions.



 

News & Notes

Some exciting things have happened this week.

DENNIS IS ON SPRING BREAK!!!! He has a test right afterward, but without extra lectures to worry about, we should have plenty of time to hang out and have fun ... and look at potential new apartments. After our first year of commuting through winter weather, an apartment closer to DH's university sounds more and more attractive!

***

The study schedule being less frantic, we have been playing DH's new game, Agricola. I am loving a strategy game that is about, get this, farming instead of world domination. I highly recommend this game -- it's fun, makes you use your brain but doesn't take three days to play, and is really well designed. Not to mention the fact that I can TOTALLY play with the goal of not being in debt at the end, instead of racking up the most points (I haven't "won" a game yet). Hey, my family is from small-farm Tennessee. A big profit from a family farm? Yeah, right!

Then again, the game is set in a (hilariously-illustrated) 16th-century. Whatever. It's fun anyway!

***

I got hit by a car. Apparently the nice family in the red van forgot they had a stop sign AND completely failed to notice that an enormous blue tank of a car was entering the intersection. By the grace of God, no one was hurt and damage to the vehicles was not too bad. I am very grateful that nobody was hurt, and that Mrs. Red Van's insurance is paying for repairs.

My brother Nathaniel is emphatically NOT allowed to read this last.

The Paragon Of Animals

obviously. My life is so FULL of angelic action and godlike apprehension. Yes, it is time for another Update, should you be interested in what's going on. Mostly what's going on is in my head, right now. If you don't feel like indulging my self-absorption, check it out -- these crosswords are the best thing ever.

WHY I AM PROUD OF MY HUSBAND
... because he is so diligent and hardworking in his studies. Not to mention intelligent. I was helping him review vocab for a quiz the other night, and I couldn't even pronounce the definitions. DH could supply the definition (and pronounce it!) and he even knew what it meant. And he's making very good grades -- a big deal in medical school!

WHY I AM NOT LOOKING FOR A JOB
"As an English lit major, there are two job descriptions for which I qualify: low-paying secretarial position, or even lower-paying secretarial position." -- Probably misquoted line from this amusing but forgettable mystery (couldn't resist the Austen reference!), by Tracy Kiely.

Ms. Kiely, if you are reading, please don't sue me. I returned the book to the library, and it's checked out now, so I can't go back and correct the reference. Truly it wouldn't be worth your time. I have a B.A. in English literature.

In fact, I tried the low-paying secretarial position and even that was too much for me. I see a red polo and a grocery checkout line in my future ... that's After Winter future. I need to gain at least five pounds (probably ten, but ... not going to think about that) and figure out how to stop having emotional freakouts first. Inexplicable, uncontainable fits of weeping or panic or whatever do not fit well in a professional environment.

DH and I are hoping to move nearer to his school this spring, and my plan is to arrive at Reasonably Functional Adulthood by then, and then get another job. I suspect that green and warm will help a lot. Meanwhile I am reading a lot of novels and drawing super-deformed pandabears and robot smily faces.

So that's why, no, I'm not really looking for a job right now.

Although if anyone needs a regular babysitter/nanny, I would make an AWESOME nanny. Just sayin.'

WHY I AM NOT WRITING.
^See above.

WHY I LOVE MY SAVIOUR
I can't quite say "because he keeps me sane" (see above), but ... because he keeps me safe even when I'm not sane. Even when I'm too stuck in the insanity to take a breath and remember that.
Because he saves me from what I deserve. Because he knows me -- all of me. He knows me, and he loves me!
Because he offers me the sure hope of a good world -- a world that will be what it was made to be.
Because he put me in this world that -- snow and all -- can take my breath away with its sheer, unexpected beauty.
Because he has blessed me with the love of so many dear, dear people.
Because he is, completely, in and of Himself, beautiful, lovely, excellent, right in a way that anything else can only shadow.

Trojan Holiday

No, my computer didn't get attacked over Christmas. Instead, we got to spend Christmas with our families after all!

Despite my aversion to new years' resolutions,  there are definitely some things I want to do differently in 2010. Specifically, more deliberately. But first, Dear Reader, a quick visit to December 2009.

Or maybe not so quick. Since concision is not my strong point, either!

As a few of you know, I quit my job at Monster Financial almost a week after my first Iowa blizzard hit. This is still a little painful for me to talk about. It's difficult for me to trust my husband that we will be OK financially until I find more work. Even more difficult is accepting my own inadequacy. Physically and mentally, I just could not handle the work any longer -- including getting-ready and commute time, I was spending from 6:00 am to around 5:30 pm on a job that was both extremely easy and emotionally draining. The prospect of getting up even earlier to handle the winter weather was the proverbial last straw.

So you can pray that God will help me to repent of feeling guilty for not being able to do more (because that is just PRIDE), and help me to humbly embrace the opportunity to do what I CAN ... whatever that is ... without worrying over what I should have been able to do, or what someone else might have been able to do. Right now I'm looking for work closer to home, maybe even something part-time. That, and sleeping A LOT!

After I quit, DH and I were super-excited to be free to visit our families for Christmas! We crammed gifts for our families into DH's tiny car along with the gifts they had already mailed us, and hit the road. During the 11 hours from Iowa to Tennessee we watched the fields outside the windows turn from white ... to dead brown ... to patchy green.

It was such a blessing to spend the holidays with our families. We spent five days at my parents' farm in Troy. Coming from a small family, I don't think DH appreciates how restful it was for me to be in the middle of ten or twelve people's constant noise and busy-ness! Christmas day we travelled to Dennis's parents home, and spent several days enjoying their company as well. I am so grateful that we were able to make the trip down to Tennessee.

Then we s l o w l y drove back from 20-degree weather to negative 20! Seriously -- negative 20 degrees Fahrenheit. I am still incredulous.

I loved our vacation, but it was wonderful to worship with our church again this week. And today was Dennis's first day back at school--yay!

That wraps up our holiday, and our news. Now it's back to the routine, or some semblance. Although I would like to say that we are having Gulasch for supper, using a recipe from an Italian cookbook Dennis's sister gave us. I substituted the deer meat my brother Nate sent back with us for beef, and threw it in the slow cooker. With all the lemon zest, spices, and cheapo Cabernet Sauvignon, it smells AMAZING.

You Have To Be Pretty Darn Self Absorbed...

... to write a blog post this long all about ONESELF.

I am. I am, I am. Sorry.

It is hard to believe that DH and I have been married for nearly 5 months. In a way, it surprises me how short a time we have had together ... living together is much less of an adjustment than I was expecting.

Not that it isn't still fraught with all kinds of drama.

I am the kind of person who likes to live life on the edge. As in, I borrow about 10 books a week from the library AND I read them. ALL of them. WOW. This week I was thrilled to discover some ancient cassette tapes featuring performances of Hamlet and Macbeth by old-timey actors such as John Gielgud and Alec Guinness. You know, the actors who still have that resonant, moist, radio quality to their voices (listening to which is the audial equivalent of biting into a rich, booze- and fruit-laden holiday cake), with truly astounding precision of diction. This was truly a find, because my car (which was born in the same year I was) plays cassette tapes.

So I really enjoyed listening to something truly absorbing on the way to work, as opposed to NPR's discussion of Oprah's latest big news, or the type of news stories discussed on the Godless Rock Stations, which are a sure way to erode the moral sensibility.

Then, inevitably, disaster struck. Wednesday morning I was late getting out the door, due to my distressing lack of professional attire. Dennis had already left for school--with his cellphone responsibly turned off, of course, because DH is nothing if not responsible. And of course my car would not start, because of course I had arrived home right in the middle of a soliloquy and had to stay in the car, turned on so that I could enjoy the heater, until the end of it, so that I had completely neglected to turn my lights off afterward, despite the index card taped to the inside of my windshield that says in large block letters TURN YOUR LIGHTS OFF, YOU IDIOT (except that DH crossed out the "idiot" part).

So I had to call and tell my boss that I wouldn't make it in to work. And then I had to call and cancel the doctor's appointment I had scheduled for that afternoon. And then I had to cry for three hours, because I am self-absorbed enough to really be upset by my explosion of incompetence. I still have this arrogant need to, if I can't be brilliant in a creative way, at least handle mundanity competently.

I should explain at this point that, since moving to Iowa the last week of July, I have left my lights on (and run down my car battery) four times, and locked my keys in the car once. That's just car-related incompetence, not general incompetence, which happens on a daily, if not hourly basis.

So I was basically a mess by the time Dennis got home. I told him what happened, and he did that thing where he stops and thinks how he wants to react to a situation. So he decided to treat it as not a big deal at all (which I guess it wasn't, put into perspective, which I don't have). Which really did a lot to defuse my heaped-up store of agony untold, and help me to face the evening with an acceptable amount of sanity.

Sometimes this makes me mad that Dennis is so capable and so deliberate in his responses. Because, you know, I could use some of that! I have the emotional maturity of a six-year-old. My life is a constant string of NOW. And sometimes, NOW is great. But more often (because I am imperfect and wicked, and so is the world) NOW is not so great. And if NOW is all I can see, then, by golly ... it is not a pretty sight. I spend probably about 75% of my waking life either furtively walking around the edges of depression, hoping to stay peripheral, or CAUGHT IN THE PIERCING FANGS OF CRUEL DESPAIR, O Agony!

Anyway, the point of this whole story is to say how very, very much I respect my husband. He is one of the most thoughtful, deliberate people I know. He prays almsot every day that he would be Christlike in the way he loves his wife (me!), and that, my dears, is HUGE. (It makes me cry a lot, but then I cry ... a lot.) And it makes me really want to be more deliberate in the way I relate to him as well--less time reacting out of emotion and more time relating out of truth. I'll let you know how that goes. If nothing else, well, I can definitely see how God is using me to grow Dennis (my gosh, I HATE that).


I am just amazed by the grace and wisdom God has given my husband. He is so good -- Dennis is not exactly what I would have described as the ideal husband for myself a few years ago, but I cannot imagine a person who would be better suited for relating to me individually. I guess God knows what He is doing!

A Visit From My Girls

Updates did not happen this weekend because I was enjoying a super-special visit from my girls! Mom and my sisters graciously made the 11-hour drive from Tennessee to Des Moines in order to spend a long weekend with me.

Well, almost. They broke down in Bloomfield, IA, and my Super Amazing Husband brought them the rest of the way. On the way there he got a frantic phone call from his Fluffy Witted Wife, who had locked her keys in her car at work. There was much drama, but eventually we were all safely home and enjoying my first attempt at split pea soup (with, of course, lots of hot sauce for yours truly).

We had such a wonderful weekend. I am so grateful for the opportunity to see them! We talked, we laughed, we cried (or at least I did -- everyone needs a hobby, right?), we consumed WAY too much sugar. I think half of the Christmas goodies that I sent with them "to share with the boys" probably disappeared before they made it home!

Seriously, though, my sisters are a delight and such good company. And my mom was full of godly encouragement to love my husband and to believe the Bible.

Dennis spent most of the weekend studying (or maybe he was afraid of all the silliness fizzing around) but he did manage to get in on some of the fun! He read us some of the awesome book that he is in the middle of (more on that later).

For those of you who didn't get to meet "my girls," Martha took lots of pictures this weekend. So my blog is going high-tech with pictures!

My sister Helen, who is 9, is learning the piano. She played some nice things on Dennis's little keyboard, but mostly she had fun with the obnoxious sound effects!

 

Me and Helen. Thanks for the shirts, Jenny and Kevin!

I am SO EXCITING that I took my family to the LIBRARY on our visit. WOW! This is Martha (15) enjoying a book on horse biology that she found.

This picture is from my wedding, but I wanted everyone to see how pretty my sisters are

and also my mom :)

More Gratitude

So it hasn't exactly been the best couple of weeks for me. I think it has as much to do with the cold dark early as anything, but I have been WAY too focused on what I can't do, can't have, etc. Which really stinks. Made worse by the fact that I love to indulge myself by sulking.

So I want to share two ways that God encouraged me this week. We were listening to the sermon (which was great, as usual), and the passage closed with the verse where Christ tells his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest" (Matthew 9:37-38). I think this was really God speaking right to me. Among the many don't-do's and can't-do's that oppress me has sprung up the conviction that I am too shy in sharing my faith -- particularly with people whom I know are not Christians. I'm pretty sure that most of my guilt trips are straight from the devil, but I believe that I really and truly do need to be more proactive in speaking about Jesus. What I'm not sure is how to do that. I don't want to walk around banging people over the head with the Gospel, but at the same time, I have been waiting for YEARS, without success, for pagans to walk up to me and say, "Hey, tell me all about this Saviour of yours and why he's so great!" The answer to my dilemma was, of course, freakishly obvious. PRAY ABOUT IT. So that's what I'm doing -- praying for opportunities -- conversations or whatever -- and courage and wisdom to share what I believe most deeply -- and that God would make those glaringly obvious because of my dingbat tendencies. That's one request I know He will bless!


After the sermon, Pastor Larson asked, in the closing prayer, that God would help all of us to be faithful in the work before us, remembering that we are ultimately working for Him, and for His purposes, even in the little things. I wasn't really encouraged by that, because I have been kind of discouraged at work lately and I didn't want anyone telling me to suck it up and do my job. Not even God! I have loved brilliance and hated the hard work that goes into it. Sometimes I feel like I am filing paperwork when I should be learning to write the Great American Novel, or something. I am SO grateful for my job, but it can be frustrating in that it is both very simple and repetitive, and yet so high volume that I often feel inadequate. I KNOW that my "real job" is helping my family, and that God has a reason for the tasks and relationships He's given me at work, but dammit, I want to paint a masterpiece, not sit here drawing circles and circles and circles.

And then I started having stories again, and poems. The kind that buzz in your brain and in your fingers until you get out of bed at midnight to write them. I'm not unselfish enough yet to joyously offer writing as a sacrifice. And right now it seems like God is telling me I don't have to either-or, I can both. It is a small and a deep, deep gift. I'm nowhere near the Great Novel or anything, but writing, I don't worry anymore about What I Should Be Doing.


So maybe it hasn't been the best couple of weeks, but I have a lot to be thankful for.


And God isn't just good to ME, either. My Dear Husband is FINISHED with Biochem! On to the next class, but that is a great one to have out of the way. I am super proud and happy for him.

A Happy Saturday Blog is Better than a Glum Friday Blog.

Seriously, I should give up even intending to post on Fridays.

Anyway, I had a really fun day because DH took me SHOPPING for CLOTHES. I love shopping! It was the perfect day for us; fall fell on us last week, and this morning the air was bright, crisp, and shiny without being too terribly cold. After another Test Week, it was so much fun to spend a big stretch of time with Dennis, just enjoying looking at things. He was very patient while I tried on about sixteen thousand pairs of jeans and work pants, at several different stores.

I very nearly had a Bad Day instead of a really fun one. It is NO FUN to try on pants that don't fit. And since I am quite small, have no hips at all, and yet still have too much of me in the leg area to fit into girls' or boys' sizes, A LOT of pants don't fit me.

I was getting pretty glum, but with the grace of God and the help of a very attentive sales associate at Maurices, I was finally able to find a glorious, glorious pair of jeans. I cannot remember the last time that I bought a pair of jeans that really fit well and looked nice.

I also can't remember the last time I paid $30.00 for a pair of jeans! And I am so happy about these jeans, I am going to buy another pair JUST LIKE THEM next week (so I can use the coupon I got today).

Now all I have to find is a pair of work pants. They don't make a lot of professional-looking clothes for people my size, at least not anywhere I know to look.

DH got some tennis shoes, and we bought a bread box (we've been using my biggest mixing bowl!), some pretty glass coffee cups (he likes cappuccinos and Irish coffee and fun stuff like that), and a cookie spatula (which was strangely elusive for a long time ... )

Anyway, we have done our part to stimulate the local economy. In other news, I am excited to substitute teach Sunday School tomorrow, I discovered the delights of roasting butternut squash, and I read a super amazing book called The Name of the Rose, which is apparently about a series of murders in a medieval abbey, but really is about Knowledge and Truth and Language and English-majory stuff like that.

Tuesday Tidbits

With no terribly deep insights to share at the moment, I thought I would take a leaf from my friend Ashley's shiny blog and post a few bite-size news and musings.

There is now a life-size plastic model of the human skull sitting in my living room. It has a ghastly grin. I am SO going to review my Hamlet and deliver an (overdone, of course) graveyard speech. Being an English major leads to FUN TIMES, my friends.

Speaking of Fun With English Majors, one of my very favourite English professors linked to this YouTube video on Facebook (insert ironic joke about technology here). DH thought it was pretty stupid. I was laughing so hard I almost couldn't breathe. I don't know if that's because I'm an English major, or because I have a stupid sense of humour.

My big news is that DH and I publicly became members of our church last Sunday! We are so excited about becoming part of a body of believers that we can already tell is loving, passionate about doctrine, and serious about working out their faith. God has already blessed us so much in our short time at Redeemer PCA.

DH successfully completed his first big Anatomy exam (ugh, don't even ask), for which we are both grateful! Now he is hitting the books to prepare for the next Biochem exam. I am so proud of his dedication. Please keep him in your prayers, since the schedule can be wearing. I am looking forward to the shopping trip we have planned for when he finishes the next round of tests!

If you missed Friday's post (I regret to admit, I was rather wallowing), guess what! You get a recipe for FREE! Just scroll down for Lo Mein that is super tasty and easy to make.

One more food idea--it isn't really complicated enough to count as a recipe; I got the idea from Hungry Girl: for a sweet, fluffy frozen treat, mix about 1/4 cup whipped topping (I use light dairy-free) with a 6oz container of yogurt. If you use light both, you get a creamy delicious treat that is really low calorie. Super awesome!

21 Days Later ... The Highlights

It's hard to believe that Dennis and I have only been married for three weeks . . . so much has happened in the last 21 days.

It's been fun and a half -- as you might expect, knowing me, a pretty crazy half.

One week after our honeymoon, we packed a truly incredible volume of STUFF into Dennis's compact Saturn, and drove 11 hours to Des Moines, Iowa. We scribbled vague signatures on what seemed like two hundred different forms, agreements, contracts, and disclosures, and finally shambled up two flights of stairs to our first home together. That first night we noticed, dimly, the lack of promised refrigerator included with apartment. Dimly.


And more-or-less exactly two seconds after the rental office closed for the evening.

Dinner at Applebee's and a brief infestation of Wal-Mart in search of canned goods.

The next day I discovered two things:
I had not included a can opener in the "essential things" list (Fortunately, my Eagle Scout husband was prepared with his all-purpose pocketknife. Seriously, Boy Scouts, I can understand the screwdriver, knife, and can opener applications . . . but a corkscrew?), and
Said promised refrigerator was swiftly delivered to our door :)

We had a lovely, cozy first few days together, before my parents arrived with a trailer, furniture, kitchen supplies (including my can opener!) and best of all, fresh eggs and vegetables from the garden. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

In the week and a half since then, I have managed to:
- Use more Clorox in two days than in the rest of my life previously
- Get lost WHILE navigating by GPS . . . TWICE
- Miss one job interview due to said lost-ness, break down into honest-to-goodness hysterics, and communicate--explosively--with my patient and gracious new husband :)
- Procure a library card and check out seven books
- Marveled at the fact that there are 2 Wal-Marts, 2 Targets, 3 Hy-Vees (kind of like an Uber-Walgreens), and 1 Aldi within a 15-minute drive
- Get four meals out of one chicken
- Reschedule and successfully complete missed interview (perhaps leading to temporary placement?)
- Discovered husband's fondness for homemade cornbread!
- Attend women's fellowship hosted by local PCA
- Contemplated (briefly) spending $7.99 a stem on faux cherry blossoms at World Market. Settled on $2.49 something-else from Wal-Mart.
- Confronted my own desperate need of grace at least four times daily
- Complete the last batch of wedding thank-you notes (check your mailboxes, my friends!)
- With help from the dear husband, cleaned a pigeon nest out of the apartment AC unit. (Contemplated bathing in the last of the Clorox, but settled for an hour-long shower. Am itching in anticipation of avian parasites.)
- Also with DH, finished I Samuel and began II Samuel
- Did NOT buy Starbucks every--or even any--day
- Enjoyed waffles home-made by my DH from a German recipe
- Washed approximately fourteen thousand loads of dishes
- Read the first one-and-a-half of the shelf full (two deep) of Dennis's Star Wars novels

I only hope the next three weeks are as full of fun and forgiveness.