Life and Such

My mom recently commented on my lack of blog posts lately...I haven't really had anything to talk about, but I'll tell you a bit of my life anyway :)

1) I'm working 5 days a week.  This is a huge adjustment.  I haven't labored that many days in a row since college :)

2) I'm starting to give up on housekeeping...squeaky, clean floors are over rated, anyway.  I need to work on building my immune system.  Why not start by living in a messier atmosphere (j/k...our house doesn't look that bad...just not as nice as when I stayed home.)

3) I'm REALLY looking forward to Memorial Day this year....It will be my first day off since February 1st.

4) I regularly go to bed at 8:15pm these days...I better stop blogging NOW, because I only have an hour left of my day to exercise, study and do laundry (It's now 7p)

Randomness...

1.  I thought the Mall of America parking lot was busy until I shopped in NJ/NY.  There's NO messing around in these states...If you find a parking spot 1/2 a mile away, count yourself lucky.

2.  Culture SHOCK are the two words I would use to describe the last couple of weeks.

3.  A person who did NOT grow up in this country candidly observed that I did not look or sound anything like the others I work with  (this was not said in a mean fashion)  hmmm...lately, I HAVE felt like I grew up in a foreign land.

4.   Kisses on the cheek.  There's no dodging them in NJ.  There's some total smackage (yes, I made that word up) of cheeks up here.  Do I turn my face to the right, the left?  Do I kiss back?

5. People who live in NJ, have ALWAYS lived in NJ...They continually ask me "Well, what did you move HERE for?"  Sometimes I ask myself the SAME question....:)  No worries, though.  We are settling in.  I've heard it takes 1-2 years to call a new place home.  I'm hoping it will be sooner for us!

Visits and Other Big News...

 This weekend Johnnie, Jenny and family visited us.  We went to NYC and tried out some local favorites in NJ.    Here's a couple of pic's....

Hanging out in one of our favorite NYC spots-Central Park.

Levi is always running...his parents must be tired! 

Yeardley playing in Central Park.  She also took her first taxi, train and subway ride.  I'm pretty sure she was MORE excited about her visit to the big NYC American Girl Store, though!  

This smiling face is now employed FULL TIME!  I start my job on Wednesday.  I'm pretty excited.

This Clip Made Me Homesick

ps..Please excuse the swear word in the title...He never says this word in the clip.

Family Vacation

Joel and I visited my family at the beach this week! It was fun seeing everyone!

Hunting for sea glass despite the wind and chilly weather

Can you tell that Joel takes all of the pictures?

Joel deserves "the best husband award ever" as he drove many many miles to see my family for a short period of time

Some (notice I did not say ALL) of my favorite kids learning to play the wii.

Kalen is as blue-eyed and bubbly as ever!

Looks like Luke is getting the hang of it.  He's also very good at hiding rocks (wink, wink-only my family will understand this joke)

Renee!  

Dad catching a few zzz's!

I missed this furry little face while I was gone.....but nothing changed!  She still snoozes in her favorite spot all day.  

Again, I wish we had taken more pictures. I should have snapped a few shots of my sisters and their hubbies as I do not see them often! Next time, folks!!

Since We Have Been Home...

We enjoyed a fun holiday with friends and family, but we were both ready to stop living out of our suitcases (although, we love the luggage we received for Christmas).  Not much has changed since we returned home, but here is an update:

1)  I'm still volunteering for an inner city after school program.  Unfortunately, it is closed until January 9th.  I wish I would have known that BEFORE I stood outside in the freezing cold for 35 minutes the other day.

2)  We are figuring out how to spend our Christmas money.  (I feel like we have been trying to decide this since my mom sent us our gift in October!)

3)  I am reading at least one classic novel per month.  I am currently flying through Peter Pan.  Anyone have any good suggestions for future months?

5) We are getting ready to see my side of OUR family soon.  I'm excited!

6)  I'm still writing.   Blogging helps keep me busy during the day. I miss my old job.  boo- hoo.

That's all for now, folks.

Christmas in the South

This Christmas:
1) We visited friends and family in NC, SC and VA.
2) I tried fried chicken for the first time (unless you count KFC). I finally understand why people rave about this meal.
3) I ran two extra long runs because I missed my turn two days in a row.
4) I misunderstood someones cue to enter their home.  I thought they were opening their arms for a hug...awkward.  I'm still a bit embarrassed by that:)  Maybe they think I'm one of those people that hugs everyone.
5) I began to crave oatmeal, beans and any food without sugar or fat in it due to the large volume of food we were given over a weeks time.  I refuse to weigh myself after this vacation!  Maybe in a few weeks.
6) We met our niece, Sally, for the very first time.

Here are our random pic's.  Apparently, we only snapped photos one morning.  If you or your kids are not in these pictures, please don't be offended!  We are not always the most organized picture takers!

I look like I just woke up and Sally seems a bit shocked

Our fancy feast at Linda and Milt's house

I think this is a better picture of both of us

Annie opening gifts

Hope patiently waiting to unwrap her gift

Joel's brother Josh

There you have it folks!  Our Christmas in the South.  Too bad there are NO pictures of my dear husband!