A Word About Us

Since it's been awhile since we posted, thought I'd give you a quick update of life here.

The snow is finally melting. It stuck around for a good 10 days before even really melting. It's so nice to see the sidewalks again (though there are still some icy patches to watch out for). Locals tell us this is the longest cold spell with snow they've had in at least a decade. This old NE Ohio girl was having major flashbacks to growing up with inches/feet of snow for days on end. I used to like it then. I realized this bout of snow I've gotten over that like/love. One day of snow, maybe a few more a Christmas time, is more than enough.

I got my hair cut last week. I now have a little more "fringe" (bangs) which are growing on me. I also found out during that visit that I have "virgin hair." LOL. They were amazed I'd never had my hair colored or permed. I think the one hairstylist was ready to start experimenting on it right then.

For Valentine's Day I surprised Mark by booking dinner reservations (on Thursday evening) at a quaint Italian restaurant near our church that Mark's been wanting to visit. It always smells amazing when we walk past it a couple times a week. It was super adorable inside and we were both thankful that no food smells bothered me. I chose not to eat this time around not knowing what I could find to eat at an Italian place that specializes in, well, Italian and seafood (my two biggest allergies). But there may be hope if we go again, and Mark is hoping there will be an "again."

We are glad to have our internet connection re-established after 3 full days without it. AOL was having major issues that we are glad are now resolved :)

Yesterday I had an experience I hope not to repeat. I was driving along one of our fairly main thoroughfares in our part of town when one minute I had gears into which to shift and the next minute I did not. Talk about panic! I never knew a gear shift could go round in circles without the clutch being pressed in. Not good. Needless to say, I blocked traffic for several minutes while frantically deciding what to do and also received a great many angry stares. Because cars were already parked on both sides of the road, the road was two lanes, and I was blocking one entirely, leaving only the option of passing in the other lane. I even had an ambulance stop and angrily demand why I was there. I wanted to say "You know, I thought I'd randomly stop in the middle of traffic, with my hazards on, during a busy Saturday afternoon and see what would happen." I held my tongue and just told them the situation. At least their lights/sirens weren't on so I don't think it was an emergency. I eventually got out of the car (thinking I'd be safer if the car got hit, after calling Mark on the cell phone, of course) and pleaded with a young 20-something year old to push the car the 15 feet or so to a clear spot on the side of the road while I steered. He looked doubtful, but I was pretty insistent it would be easy and very helpful of him, so he obliged me. Mark had been able to phone a tow truck who arrived maybe 20 or 30 minutes later and hopefully our car will be in working condition again by tomorrow or Tuesday. While the entire situation was un-nerving, I thought of many reasons how I could see God's grace and hand in the situation. It's always comforting to see that!

Mark's been busy writing more words than his goals for each week so I'm quite proud and he's quite exhausted!

My spare time has often been filled with learning photography (whether that be taking photos, reading books, watching You Tube videos, or editing), which is in part my lack of much writing on here. I'm finding the more I learn the more I want to learn. It's such a great hobby with endless possibilities, which is one thing I love about it. I can't wait for warmer weather (which it seems may be on its way this week, even if temporarily) to do more shooting outside.

So that's our past 10 days in a nutshell. Hopefully it won't be another 10 before you hear from us again!