Time Flies

Well, life has been interesting during the past few months. Lots of ups and a few downs...many things to write about and little time (or sometimes interest) to do it. So, here's a recap...Fall & Winter.

Autumn was beautiful! I still can't believe we live in Minnesota. We rode our bicycles all over town this fall and joined the local YWCA. We took lots of walks and explored our neighborhood. I got used to working again and Mark pounded the pavement in search of employment. I even recall the first weekend in November being sunny and in the low 70's! We did our best to enjoy it because we knew winter would be setting in. And, boy did it! It's been pretty cold pretty much since December with some breaks here and there. January only had one day above freezing ( I believe in was 33 degrees on Jan. 31) as well as numerous when the air temperature didn't get UP to 0. While this seems horrible, we've actually grown accustomed. We both purchased a few pair of long underwear and wear our hiking boots to walk the dog. Also, it's hard to beat all the sunshine we've had this winter! I knew I could handle the cold as long as the sun was out...I'm glad to know that Mark likes it that way too!

Mark interviewed with a few companies in the late fall/early winter. After a long time and many interviews with one company they offered him a great opportunity...we were overjoyed! We went out to celebrate with friends and went shopping for new work clothes for Mark. Then, a few days later, the head of HR called and rescinded the offer. Big bummer! But, the silver lining is that Mark was approached by a good friend to begin work on a web-based business. I'll let him share more on his own about that.

We also have been looking at houses and neighborhoods. We have found lots of areas that we enjoy being in...and there is something in me that desires a Saint Paul address. Don't know why! We have made an offer on a bank owned property in St. Paul but it could take a while before we hear anything...we're excited. It's a big Tudor built in 1932 and in pretty good shape. Just needs some TLC and a new kitchen! Fingers crossed...

We have had visits from different members of my family, which is always fun! Especially in our tiny apartment! We did get to go downhill skiing with my dad, brother, and 4 1/2 year old niece. That was a fun day! Not quite like Washington but awfully fun with family! Speaking of, in January we went to visit Mark's family in Texas. The timing was serendipitous as we had had a string of -20 degree days here and arrived in TX to something like the 50's! We had fun catching up with family, eating, and even enjoying a bonfire (with s'mores) one evening. (We've also found it interesting to live in a place where you have to distinguish temperatures between positive and negative - like up to 30!).

We have found a church we really like: Church of the Cross. It's a trek but we have really enjoyed the community there and the messages. We're in a fun small group and enjoy creating and eating meals with them every other Wednesday! We feel very blessed to have found it!

One of the fun things we've done recently is host an Oscar Party! We rearranged our place, invited 14 people over (because not everyone will be able to make it - WRONG), everyone brought something to eat or drink, we voted for who we thought would win, and watched the Academy Awards on the wall using our projector. It was a blast! We love entertaining and have felt a bit trapped in our little place. It was so fun and nice of our friends to embrace the "cozyness" of our apartment!