An Unexpected Uprooting.

Well, we're moving.
I felt sympathy for Frank and Jessica when this happened to them, but I guess now I can start feeling a little empathy. We don't know where yet, but it's going to be in an area that hasn't been knocked, so hopefully there'll be more success for everyone.
We'll probably be living in a hotel. : So much for settling down, huh?
It feels like we just got all unpacked and got to know the layout of where we live, and we're just starting to get to know people in the ward. …And now we're moving again. I was expecting to be here until the end of summer. Oh well. The best laid plans, right?
There's nothing I can do, so I may as well not complain.
I'm choosing right now to be happy about this situation.
Who knows? We might like it.

I apologize for that. I don't want anyone feeling sorry for us, believe me. Change is stress, and everyone must endure it at one point or another. I just hope we can get everything to fit into our car again. :) Some of you saw how full it was when we moved up here…and we've since accumulated more stuff.

I'm enjoying the office job. It's fun being the middleman, getting calls from all the sales reps and having to schedule techs to go out and install the systems. It's like having two gears working together, and I'm the grease in the middle that makes it run smoothly. On top of that, when I'm not getting any calls, I can do whatever I want, like read, or write, …or play Rock Band.:)

Jeff's allergies are still bad. Thanks for all the tips. Amber, I don't know if we could handle the "in one nostril and out the other" trick. It might be a bit much. But, then again, if it works…
We're thinking of taking him to a specialist to see if they can do anything.

I've been having all sorts of weird dreams lately. I had one last night where Dad and I were in a church, and these guys came in and started shooting us with acid-filled paintballs. The only way to stop it from eating us away was by spreading on a pasty base that Dad just happened to have with him. Weird. I had another one that wasn't quite as weird where I gave a Book of Mormon to a long-lost middle school friend that I'd always wanted to give one to, but never had. Maybe it's a sign that I need to send her one. Ponder on this I will.

I finally got my ring fixed, hopefully for the last time. That thing has given us more grief than it's worth, I'm afraid. This is like the 5th time we've had to get it fixed or adjusted. The silly diamond keeps getting loose or falling out. But, this time the goldsmith built up the gold around it and drilled holes for all of the corners, so it should stay in. If it doesn't, at least we know we have insurance. (Unlike the last time it fell out…)

The weather has been a lot warmer lately, thank goodness. I hated sending Jeff out into the rain and wind. Except now he's getting sunburns. What're you going to do? :)

Allergy Season

Sometimes, when certain harmless substances are encountered by receptors in some people’s bodies, there is an overreaction by the person’s immune system to the substance causing an outpouring of bodily fluids through the nasal and visual ducts. This causes severe discomfort to the subject and the ability to function normally is disrupted.

Such it is with the summer months in Washington state.

Jeff has been hit by the vilest of allergy attacks that is disrupting his (and my) sleep and hindering his work. Snoring is the reason of the first, and the second is only more obvious… “Hebwo, wub you wike poo bwuy a secwurity swystem?” Let it be known to the world that the over-the-counter drugs known as Claritin and Zyrtec do not effectively treat the symptoms of outdoor allergies (at least they haven’t with Jeff. Maybe they could work with your allergies…) If anyone has any other suggestions, feel free to make them known here. We are open to new ideas, (short of having him wear one of those respirator masks. I don’t think the customers would dig that very much.)

To my utter and absolute horror, I must announce to you that my soul has not been “saved.” While I was working in the office, a crazy looking dude and his son came to our door, wanting my coworker and I to chant to Jesus to forgive us of our sins, after which we could go about our normal lives – not making any changes (except for “accepting Jesus into our hearts”) and staying our same religion, with the firm assurance that we would then have a ticket into heaven. I kindly replied that I believe there are a few more requirements (like baptism and keeping the commandments) to get into heaven and I didn’t think chanting to Jesus was going to help. Of course he tried to rebuke me, even saying to my pregnant coworker that it was especially important for her to do it because she could have “complications” and it would be good to have the assurance that she was going to heaven. We promptly sent him away.

This experience has made me very grateful for the knowledge I have about the true church of Jesus Christ. For more info, check out http://www.lds.org/ or http://www.mormon.org/.

Just a couple pictures from the big day.

I have writer's block and this is only the first one. ...oh dear.
I suppose that in doing this, I am to write experiences from my life and publish them for the world to see and (hopefully) enjoy. Unfortunately, it feels a lot like writing a simple email, and those have never been very inspiring to me. Oh well.
Yesterday I did yard work for about 3 1/2 hours. This may seem strange since I live in an apartment complex, but the photographer I work for needed some work done on her outdoor set, so I volunteered. The whole time, as I baked out in the sun, I couldn't stop the phrase, "Pulling weeds is the bane of my existence," from running through my mind over and over. Remind me never to get a big yard. The only satisfaction I was able to find was how good it looked when I was finished (and that my arms were more tan than before.) Needless to say, I was a bit sore this morning.

I almost ran into this as I was mowing.