Turkey Time

Although I normally dislike when American citizens refer to Thanksgiving as "Turkey Day," I had no "th" alliteration options, so there ya have it.

As one might expect, our holiday break was chock-full-o-traveling. This trip was much more of a whirlwind as is par for the course, but enjoyable nonetheless. Tuesday after work we headed way up north to the Links, stayed there Wednesday, the Koehlers came up for feasting on Thursday, that night the six of us drove back to Sellersville, stayed there Friday, and finally Saturday we drove to State College for the game and back home to Richmond that night. WOW. I'm exhausted.

On Wednesday I spent most of the day in my mother-in-law's kindergarten class. The Pilgrims and Indians had quite the Thanksgiving celebration with homemade applesauce, cornbread, and mini pumpkin pies. They were adorable and sweet and quiet. Oh it was so peaceful, a whole different world from the one I live in daily.

Hmm what other notables?

My sister and I made the mistake of battling the Black Friday crowds. At the outlets. Terrible, terrible mistake. After my brother's horrible tales of faraway parking and long treks up sketchy streets to get there last year, we decided to take a different route. Unfortunately, that route took us at least twenty minutes longer. Now that wouldn't have been all that bad if we wouldn't have had to spend another twenty (at least!) trying to find a parking space. Out of control. Much like our travels north, my experience at the outlets was quite a whirlwind. I don't know how people focus on anything as they try to calculate sales, rummage through unorganized clothing, and anticipate long lines. Never again for me. I love a great sale as much as the next person, but my mental and emotional sanity had been compromised, at which point even I have to admit it's just not worth it.

Then came Saturday. I have never ever been as cold as I was sitting at that football game. NEVER. And the wind. Oh my the WIND! Mind you, it didn't help that I had become ill that morning, going through half a box of tissues on the way there. Nevertheless, I never thought one could be that cold with that many layers. My downfall was my feet. Only one pair of socks and a pretty thin pair of shoes. Even a heavy wool sock couldn't stand up to that cold cement. Even though I came down with acute hypothermia, it was so great to be back at my alma mater and even to see a couple girls who are dear to my heart from when I interned with Campus Crusade the year after I graduated.

Skimming back over this post, it sounds like it was horrible. It wasn't. It was so so good to see family and friends and to spend time eating good food, watching holiday movies, and seeing the snow fall for the first time this season.

Onward to Christmas!

Back to His Roots

One reason the car trouble was such a tragedy is because Jeremiah had tickets to a Lecrae concert in Virginia Beach tonight. I couldn't imagine if he hadn't been able to make it. Yikes. Lecrae is a Christian rap artist, and let me assure any of you who are smirking just like I was when I heard of this idea--this guy is good. Jeremiah was giddy with excitement as he transformed from his shirt and tie motif to his pre-planned hip hop ensemble.

Here's the big guy himself as he was about to head out. Baggy jeans and oversized hip hop tees. Where are we? Or more like when are we (Lost reference anyone?)?? Jeremiah circa high school and college glory years. Classic.

Isn't Life Funny?

Hilarious, really.

Can you sense my sarcasm?

Right in the midst of my extreme financial anxiety over the holidays and moving into our condo (Dec. 21 by the way!!), Jeremiah's car decides it's time to break down. This morning. While I was driving. To the tune of $400.

Isn't life funny???

Still running through my head are all the condo things we could have bought with $400. Perhaps a good deal on a mattress and boxspring? All the blinds and ceiling fans and paint we might need? A queen bed frame and guest bedding? Dining room chairs? A coffee table, bookshelves, and picture frames? Or perhaps making a dent in the refrigerator we just had to buy. Bahh!

The good news is the car broke down right after I pulled through the drive-thru at a local Starbucks. Luckily, I wasn't in the middle of 288, alone and stranded. And fortunately, Jeremiah was still home to receive my tear-filled phone call and come to my rescue. The school I work at was even very gracious with me when I told them I wasn't going to be able to make it in so last minute.

The other good news is Allen Tire has saved the day again, fixing up that piece of garbage by mid-afternoon. After the battery light went out, and it started overheating and smoking and smelling like it was on fire, and would barely drive, I didn't think there was any hope left. Oh, and we had to get it towed. But a pretty penny later, my nemesis is parked right out front again.

This is the thorn in our side. Great theologians of the past are rolling in their graves right now as I compare our constant car trouble with Scripture. But boy is it a pain!

Over the Weekend

Jeremiah and I had a great weekend!

We traveled north to the Koehler household for a very special event--my sister's believer's baptism. Although she was baptized as a baby, Andria's new relationship with Christ and understanding of Christianity at its core motivated her to be baptized again. Simply an outward sign of her new faith. I've been praying for Andria's salvation since my freshman year in college and so you may imagine I am overjoyed that God has drawn her into a personal relationship with himself just over a month ago. Yay!

While we were there we did some other fun things, too. On Saturday morning we were able to get together for breakfast with two of our great friends from college, Kristy and Matt. It was so great to see them--to catch up and laugh together!

Afterwards, we headed to Bucks Country Gardens with my parents to admire their festive displays. 'Tis the season and I couldn't be happier. Jeremiah and I have never been out with just my parents, it was sort of like a double-date. I loved it!

The four of us then headed over to J. Scones--the bakery where my sister now works. What a cute place it was, and what delicious delicacies it had! My mom lavished us with scones and cupcakes to enjoy the rest of the weekend. There's a reason this bakery's claim to fame is scones. Instead of dry, crumbly pastry, these baked goods are flavorful and moist. They even mail frozen dough for you to enjoy no matter your location. Want dibs? Let me know.

Buff chick mac cheese followed later that evening, in addition to relaxation and quality time together.

On our way home Sunday we picked up a couple goodies at Ikea; however, this wonderful lamp shade we bought doesn't fit on the stand we have, so surprise surprise we'll be returning it. Bummer.

Just Around the Riverbend

Now that my Macbook is back and better than ever, time for a little literary gem to brighten your day. And by literary gem, I mean a hopefully brief update on a little trip we took a few weekends ago.

As I've mentioned before, Richmonders are big into going to the river. My friends Bevin and Claiborne are no exception. Claiborne's parents own a house in Deltaville basically right on the point of a little peninsula. It's a gorgeous, cozy place with a bunch of bedrooms, a huge screened in porch leading to an open porch, plenty of yard space, a bit of beach, and two piers and a boat to boot! Oh, and an amazing stone fireplace in the center of the main living space. So large they have to have the wood custom-cut.

A couple weekends ago, the Irbys were making the hour and a half trek to D-ville for a mini vacation away from the stress of work. They invited us along and we were so excited they did. We packed our things and headed down Friday night and stayed the majority of Saturday. You could find us chatting with a glass of wine by the fire, exploring the property, competing in a couple Scattegories matches, and trying out a local pizza place. It was a lovely, relaxing time getting to hang out with new friends.

Thanks for Your Patience

...because I've just about lost mine.

I'm disheartened to announce that my computer is out of commission, hence the less-than-consistent posts. I'm currently updating you from Jeremiah's Dell desktop PC circa 1990, bulky monitor and all. My ultra trendy MacBook has failed me once again. Those words are painful to get out. That blazing white beauty has been my right-hand man, and without him a part of me is snuffed out. Bahaha! But really, I rely on my computer a lot for checking email, paying bills, uploading pictures, browsing condo ideas, and of course stalking on facebook. So now that its "AirPort" has decided it's about dead (this happened a few months after I got it three years ago, too) I have no way of connecting to the network. No internet equals worthless computer.
The silver lining in all of this is that when I called Apple support yesterday, the English-speaking (yay!) man informed me that I still have six days left on my AppleCare, meaning I can get all of this repaired and no cost to me. Hallelujah! I thought that warranty expired long ago. Talk about clutch timing. So tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment at 12:20 in the afternoon. Actually, I don't, my computer does. There's a bonus, too. The top of the laptop where I rest of wrists has cracked on both sides so it's currently covered in packing tape. G-h-e-t-t-o. I thought, eh, since this guy speaks English I'll go ahead and ask him if that is covered as well. YES, he said! Whoop, whoop!
So hopefully they won't keep him in the hospital for too long, but even if they do, I guess it'll be worth it to have him healthy again. Until then, I can't post any pictures and my life is a little more irritating on this Dell. Hang in there and pray that I'll do the same.

In other news, the holidays are approaching and I'm getting excited for that. We've started a bit early this year so as not to overwhelm ourselves during December when we've got some moving to do. Speaking of, our big move is approaching in just over a month.
Although I felt like it was moving at a snail's pace during the record high temps this summer, time really is flying.