Alternatives

Well, it turns out that I'm an alternate for two different clinical laboratory science programs, one in Colorado Springs, CO and the other in Columbia, SC. Apparently CLS programs are really skeptical about out-of-staters.

At this point, Matt and I are going to wait and see if one of the 8 to 12 spots opens up (although this seems unlikely, I'm not sure what the actual statistics are on this kind of thing). If there is an opening, I'll take it, but if we don't hear from them we're going to start planning to move back to Bryan so Matt can start college at A&M, probably next spring.

Matt is pretty excited about moving back to Texas, and it will be nice to be near our family and friends again. I admit I was really counting on this CLS thing to give a bit more direction/purpose to my life and give me a specific niche to fill. I'm a bit frightened of hunting for jobs because so much of that process involves being rejected. I suppose it's time for me to be an adult and do things that I don't want to do.

Ultimately, God is guiding all of this. He knows where we need to be, and He can see the things that we don't know. Maybe we'll have a baby earlier than anticipated, and I won't have time to be a clinical laboratory scientist. Maybe there's someone special Matt needs to meet in Texas, or maybe there's a better job for me, or a house we need to buy, or relationships we need to develop, or who knows what. I will trust God to lead us, and we will follow His urgings.

So, yeah. We still don't actually know where we're going to end up in four months, but there's hope.

This is the 100th post!!

Wow, the one hundredth post! For this momentous occasion, I'd like to direct your attention to the following:

Generic Names for Soft Drinks by county

Yes, the conclusive data is in, ladies and gentlemen! It's "pop" in the north, "coke" in the South, and "soda" in California, Arizona, southern Nevada, the tippy north east of the US, St. Louis, and Milwaki. Weird.

Naturally, the verdict is that the South is right, the proper generic name is "coke," and California is predictably different.

This has been the 100th Post. Thanks for joining us.

Amusing Quotes of the Day:

Helen: Do you think I'm fat?!?

Matt: No! ... That means yes.

note: for the record, Matt does not really think I'm fat.
.....

Matt: You should get a second life.

Helen: What? Where would I get a second life?

Matt: On the internet.

Another Post

Well, I don't really have much to say but it's 11:45 (which is ridiculously late for a military family, let me tell you, but Matt doesn't have to work tomorrow), and I'm waiting for Matt to get tired of LightWave. I took a nap today and had a Dr. Pepper this afternoon, so there's really nothing to complain about except the change of schedule. I think I'll count my blessings, since I do that far too rarely.

1. I made fried okra today in my cast iron pan and didn't set off the fire alarm (granted, Matt unplugged the one in the kitchen before I started, but the one in the living room didn't go off, either).

2. I have plenty of counter space, cabinets, and a pantry.

3. I have a financially responsible husband

4. who is really cute

5. and very determined (especially with LightWave, apparently).

6. Our electricity bill is reasonable.

7. We do NOT have a hot tub (seriously, do you know how much it costs to run those things?).

8. One day we will have children (God willing).

9. We have very interesting friends here in NC.

10. Family. I meant to put this one earlier, but I forgot. I mean this, even though I haven't actually talked to my family in like 2 weeks. Whoops. I love you guys!

11. My bread of choice is a full dollar cheaper at the commissary.

12. I have a nice comfy bed waiting for me, and my bedroom is bright and sun-shiny in the mornings.

13. We have nice things, which we didn't go into debt to buy. Actually, almost all our nice things were gifts: the beautiful knife set, my fantastic pots and pans, my picture from Italy, my bread bowl. Some things we invested in ourselves: .... I was going to continue the listing, but I feel like I'm typing a "to steal" list, so I think I'll stop now..

14. Affordable, non-nasty chai tea mix from the commissary, and my electric kettle to boil the water in.

15. My sheets, which should really go under number 13, but I feel the need to return to thinking about my bed..

Ok, I think I should end this list before my thoughts get any more erratic. Thanks for listening.

Pictures!

Haha! Points for me on the posting war! Anyway here is our little mobile home:


The view from the front door. This is Matt's Command Central (and yes, that is a folding chair).

A better view of our adorable little love seat, and the footlocker/coffee table.

And his strikingly similar big brother couch. For a few days after we got them, I would be sitting on one, looking across the room at the other, and try to figure out if I was sitting on the love seat or the couch...

Looking from the living room into the kitchen, and my cute little table and chairs.

Here's the kitchen. Note the abundance of counter space (yes, I'm serious). The sink looks over the little bar area to the living room, so I can watch TV on Matt's giant monitor while I do the dishes, or on my laptop if I put it on the bar.

This is me at the kitchen table. Behind me is the hallway. Our bedroom is straight ahead, there is the back door on the right and the bathroom on the left. Also on the left is a recessed area that is supposed to be for your washer and dryer... Right now it's acting as storage for all Matt's military stuff, and a couple of boxes of random stuff. That's a coat rack on the wall behind me.

Here is our shower curtain, concealing our ugly yellow tub.

Here's our toilet and linen storage thing.

Here's our sink and giant mirror. It's hard to get a good shot of the entire bathroom... cuz it's kinda small and angley...

This is our bedroom. Unfortunately it is green, as is our duvet, and my extra blanket... So even though we didn't plan it, we have a very very green bedroom. Whoops.

This is our beautiful Ashley dresser that apparently got dropped off a truck, and therefore we got it for next to nothing. Jacob glued it back together, and so here it is. :D

This is the yellow guest room with air mattress. Note that Matt ingeniously used a table cloth to cover the window, since there are no blinds in this room. The guest room is to the right from the front door, so completely across the house from our bedroom.

Here is the sink in the tiny half bath off the guest room.

See, I told you the guest bath was tiny.

So there you have it! The promised pictures! Enjoy!

Something Inflammatory...

..A FLAMETHROWER!!!! Okay, maybe more of a LAME-thrower, but I thought it was mildly amusing.

I've decided that it's time to bump Helen's post. I posted a new discussion in Ludus, for those of you who know about it. It's about the post on my other blog, but I put it on Ludus for the people who don't check my blog, and to stimulate some discussion on Ludus too. So there it is, another shameless plug fo myself.