Mary and Martha

Did I tell you about my skin condition, yet? I forget. The doctor says it's not contagious and that it could just 'pop up' anywhere - even on my nose. Well, it's not only been 'popping up', it's been 'popping up' everywhere simultaneously. It starts as a small, round, red splotch, which may or may not be itchy, but is usually tender. It then grows at an alarming rate, becoming swollen and painful. Usually, by the time it begins healing, it's huge. The first time it happened, the ER (cuz I was freaking out) diagnosed me with cellulitis and gave me a massive dose of steroids and it was gone in two days. The second time it happened, I went to my regular doctor, who diagnosed it as something completely different and said that it'll appear every now and then and I just have to live with it. But he did add that if it begins happening frequently, to come back and see him. Well, it's happening frequently, doc. In the past week it's shown up

Oh my gosh, *whew* What a relief. I got the job. I'm so thankful to God. This job is pretty much perfect for us. It comes at a time when we've been having some money issues above and beyond what I mentioned before. Both of our cars need parts replaced; EJ's car may be beyond repair and we might have to live as a single-car family for awhile. BUT, that's okay now, because this job is right across the street from our apartment. I can just walk there, rain or shine. God is so good and knows what we need. Seriously, I just can't say enough how the Lord has been so faithful through this whole ordeal. No matter what's happened so far, Jesus has provided for us so we haven't gone a penny deeper into debt and we even have a little left over. Sorry, I hope I don't sound like I'm bragging or showing off, I just can't keep in my gratefulness to the Lord. ~Bless!~

Why is it necessary for the priest to give even the announcements in Greek and then English? Our parish is currently transitioning priests, and the new one is of the Greek tradition. I realize there's an ethnic flavor to every Orthodox Church currently in America and I don't think anyone minds a little ethnic spice here and there, but, really, even the announcements ? We have quite a few Russian/Ukrainian/Bulgarian members, as well. What about them? What about the lone Egyptian woman? Or those who speak no language but English? Why with all the Greek? Should I not be questioning this? Is it disrespectful? I don't mean to be, but, honestly, I feel kind of disrespect ed, being relegated to the secondary church language in my own country... EDIT: Then again, I could have been raised a Russian on Old Church Slavonic. Maybe I should consider myself lucky I can understand the Liturgy at all...

This article, posted by Father Stephen, has inspired me to modify my prayer to St. Sophia and her daughters, Faith, Love, and Hope. I normally ask that I not despair when I hear of all the stupid, illegal, and evil things our government does to its people (especially if it may impact my relationship with my future children), now I'm going to ask her to pray that I rejoice no matter what I hear or experience. Always rejoice!

Hopefully. I finished the last class of what I hope will be my last college course ever. The only problem is that I've been down this road before, so, until Hillsdale excepts the transfer, I won't hold my breath. Let me say, I'm much more appreciative of Hillsdale after taking this course. It has deepened my understanding of just how insidious the liberal academic mindset can be and how powerless students are to change things if they're dependent upon their teachers "liking them" to pass the class. Tonight was particularly hard, as my professor went on and on about feminism and imperialism and railed against western civilization for thinking they're better than everyone else. I just sat there and took it - and got heartburn in the process - while he extolled the work of Betty Frieden, calling the home a place of empty depression and heartache (sadly, I was the only one in the class who seemed to know anything about The Feminine Mystique ). At least I didn&

I just figured out how to clean my electric stove !!! Okay, okay, bear with me. I've lived in this apartment for almost 8 months now and I've never cleaned under the electric coils of my stove. For serious. I thought it couldn't be done. I grew up with gas stoves and really thought that there was no good way to effectively clean under those darn coils; that the electric coil stove was the worse invention since ... well ... I don't even know. So today, I finally grew a brain and decided to google it (only took me seven months, right?). Voila! Up pops this article and my world is suddenly so much cleaner! I hadn't a clue that the coils or the drip pans could be removed. Hahaha. My stress level just went down another notch. =D

As well as Thanksgiving, today is also EJ's and my one year anniversary!

I found out yesterday that wedding photography trouble is a dominant gene passed down through the females of my mother's side of the family. My wedding (2008): Both my courthouse wedding and my "formal" wedding had issues. First, EJ and I didn't bring a proper camera to our last-minute elopement, so we got only two camera-phone pictures of us actually tying the knot - one of which is now lost. Then, because our "formal" wedding was so rushed, no professional photographer could be found. A friend of an uncle said he'd do it, but then never showed. Of course, everyone brought their own cameras, but there were no beautiful professional ones such as those you see displayed all over photography websites. My mother's wedding (1982): A little while before my mom walked down the isle, she and her photographer found an empty room in which to do the classic "beauty" shots of the bride. After snapping dozens of pictures, it came time for the ceremony

...to quote the great Dave Ramsey I could use some prayer right now. Things are pretty tight around here money-wise. EJ's car is dying, my van's windshield will need replacing within the next month or so, I just found out that the minimum payment on my student loans is $115 higher than I thought it'd be (yeah, I'll be calling Hillsdale about that), and there is simply no extra money. We can't cut any of our regular services (cable, cell phones, car insurance) because everything's under contract and the cancellation fees would be more than simply waiting until they expire - so, basically, we're hanging on and praying that we make it till February, when EJ gets a raise. I'm looking into Child Care licensing. All my other great money-making schemes have pretty much gone the way of the Dodo and, though I don't usually like other people's kids, a need is a need so I'll make it work.

EJ and I are going to the bank today to inquire about a mortgage, which naturally gets me dreaming about all the plans I have for my future house: gardens, farm animals, crunchy living, etc. =P I never get carried away, honest. ^_^ It's hard for me to remember that any home we buy will be a starter home and we may only be there for three years. That, and I, who tend who have a black thumb (seriously, every plant we've had in this house has died. Every . Single. One. I killed a bonsai tree!! How do you freaking kill a tree????) and absolutely no gardening experience, will not be able to have a Barefoot Contessa-style herb garden within the first few years of moving in. *sadpanda* Still, based on what we use the most around here, I think I've narrowed it down to a few things I want to try in the first year: green peppers (we go through those like candy), tomatoes, garlic, onions, potatoes, spinach, basil, and parsley. I don't know how they'll do, but it never hurts

Yay!!!!!!!!!! After how many months I'm finally ready to begin a new project. I think I'm going to try these . They look pretty easy and, if I make a few in different colors, I've got Christmas presents for female family and friends! =)

I love Disney's Mulan with a passion. Did you know Jackie Chan sang the Mandarin version of "I'll Make a Man Out of You"? English version with intro for those who don't know the song:

Yesterday I spent the afternoon at Maria's, my priest's wife. She has a six-month-old who is fascinated with drinking glasses and water. I've never seen a baby stare so hard at one thing for so long as I did when I began idly tapping my fingernails against my glass. I noticed the baby had suddenly stopped smiling, moving, or making any noise and was just staring intently at the cup. She was actually leaning forward, so great was her concentration. I started again and kept it up for nearly five minutes, "click ... click ... tippity-tap" and she was simply enrapt. =P I want one. (>.>)

Will someone please prove to me that carving pumpkins is pagan, that trick-or-treating is pagan, and that Halloween is a completely pagan holiday that we as Christians are supposed to shun like ... well ... the devil? From my decidedly small understanding of the history of the holiday, it seems that what we call "Halloween" is a distinctly American tradition going all the way back to ... the pilgrims - no further. Besides, if, as everyone seems to be saying, we should avoid Halloween because it dates back to pre-Christian Celtic society and ohmygoshthatzbad!! then shouldn't we do the same for every Christian holiday? Easter? Why, that's Celtic, too. Christmas? Greek and ... other things. Seriously, every holiday celebrated anywhere and at any time can probably be traced back in some way, whether actually or falsely, to an earlier era with which the celebrants would disagree. The point is, we are here , in the now , we are not then, nor there. We are not ancient Celt

Ahhh! Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! AAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hate bugs, I hate spiders, I hate beetles, I hate anything that's creepy and crawly and isn't a mammal, reptile, or fish, so imagine how I screamed like a little girl when I opened our silverware drawer and found a TWO INCH LONG cockroach hanging out among the serving spoons. EJ came to my rescue and was about to scoop it into a cup to take outside, but, when he turned back to the drawer the roach was gone. Where did it go?? It's still in my house. I don't know if I'm going to be able to sleep tonight, feeling each little twitch as tiny roach legs. *gack!* UPDATE: We found it! At least, I hope the one we found was it. Darn buggers all look the same and I can't handle the thought of a roach infestation in this apartment. The thing was big enough to make audible noises as it crawled across a plastic bag laying on the floor (I do keep a clean apartment, I swear. It didn

There, I Fixed It There comes a point in one's pursuit of frugality when one must simply sit back, admire one's handiwork, and fend off the police. This seems like it would actually be a good idea. And, hey, if you ever get tired of holding the baby's bottle ...

Last week, inspired by Alana , I rewatched the first part of the knitting DVD I purchased ... what, last year? ... and began knitting a scarf! Garter stitch all the way, nothing fancy, (and, I'll be honest, it's starting to get rather monotonous), but we've all got to start somewhere and I'm SO glad I finally just bit the bullet, bought some yarn, and began knitting!

I went to bed around 1:00 a.m. Sunday night (EJ is on swing shift, so I maintain his schedule). At about 4:30, I wake up with the cold, demonic fear in the pit of my stomach indicating there are Others attacking me - it is, unfortunately, not uncommon. I try to go back to sleep, but then realize I'm hearing more noises than usual and begin to think my mind is playing tricks on me above and beyond what the demons normally do. I have to use the restroom and decide it will be the perfect way to clear my head. As I get up, the noises to do not go away - weird noises unlike apartment complex babble. As I near our bedroom door, the light in the hallway flicks on, seemingly by itself. The fear grows stronger and colder, and it dawns on me that this may not be the work of demons, but of an actual intruder. My heart beats faster and I take a step closer to the hallway, just one step more and I'll be through the door. Suddenly, I see a shadow moving on the carpet and my heart jumps into

Well, hello kids! I've been home now for five days - by home, I mean in Michigan with my family. I've tried posting something twice in that time, but, my mom's MacBook froze up on both occasions and I had to restart it. We'll see how this posting goes. It has been WONDERFUL being back in this state. You don't realize how much you love something until you've left it and come back. My family is the same as ever, with the exception of a little 13 pound liver-and-white bundle of energy: their most recent acquisition, Lucy the puppy . She is so cute , if a bit bitey. Alright, now to quickly post this before anything goes wrong. 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... POST!

22 years ago today, I was born 40 years ago today, we landed on the moon. 56 years ago today, UNICEF was made a permanent world agency. (>.<) 65 years ago today, Count Claus von Stauffenberg, with the help of many others, tried and failed to assassinate Hitler. 83 years ago today, a convention of Methodists officially allowed women to become priests 106 years ago today, Ford Motor Company shipped its first car. 145 years ago today, the Civil War Battle of Peachtree Creek was fought near Atlanta, Georgia. 271 years ago today, the french explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes sieur de la Vérendrye reached the western shore of Lake Michigan. Yep, lotsa stuff happened on this day. =) EDIT: I just found out it's Anna's birthday today, as well. =)

Holy smoke, I mentioned for the first time to my mom today how I still needed three credits to complete my degree and she nearly blew a gasket! She wasn't angry at me, but at the school for letting me graduate and then telling me after the fact that I still needed these credits. I completely understand why she was so upset though, she and my dad footed most of my hefty bill for four years and expect to be treated better than this. I'm still upset at the school as well, but I'm also upset at myself for letting this slip by. I should have caught it. Seriously, Hillsdale is a good college, better than most, but it is not the savior of the world most conservatives think it is. It has its hypocrisies, its surrenders to the culture, etc, and it spends altogether too much on making itself look good to the outside, rather than making sure its dormitories are up to code. No school is perfect, I just wish I wasn't on the receiving end of one of the things that doesn't make it

(Like the word I just made up?) It seems like my posts are getting shorter and farther apart. I don't know why. It's not like I don't have things to blog about - but ... I just don't know if I need to share everything I'm thinking or that has happened to me. I just want to be quiet for now. While I'll probably never shut down this blog, and I think I'll still post links to articles, movies, etc. (basically what I'm doing now), I don't know how often I'll keep making original posts. Still, I do have one story to relate: After a long 4th-of-July weekend (or a "96" in military parlance), EJ is finally back at work today and the apartment simply reeks. We had two of his friends from the shop over from Friday to Sunday morning and they, all three of them, smoked, fried up burger after burger, didn't bathe, and now I'm left desperately trying to get some of the stink out. Even after two days I'm still smelling it, a testament to

Well, I went and failed again. I drove to the mall today expecting to pick up five or so job applications to different stores, but, once I got there, all of my old fears and insecurities kicked into high gear and I ended up walking out with only two. And then came home and cried - I'm still wiping the tears off my cheeks. When I got to the mall, I was actually so nervous about going into certain clothing stores that I've avoided like the plague for my entire life that I sat in a bathroom stall and prayed and felt like throwing up for a few minutes (this is what modern advertising does to some people). Once I was finally able to will myself out of the toilets, I found that, just like old times, I was physically unable to walk into most of them. I wandered around and around that mall, trying to drum up the courage to face my fears and get it over with, but, no, it wasn't going to happen. The only two stores I felt even close to comfortable in were Victoria's Secret (odd

I just received the scare of my life when I found this in my inbox: Hello, Just an update regarding the status of your Hillsdale degree: Right now, you need to complete three more hours of elective History credit to complete your requirements for graduation. If I can help in any way, please let me know. I hope all is well with you. Best Um, my advisor told me that I had completed all of my requirements. I myself looked through the requirements and thought I had completed them all. What the heck is going on? I spent 4 years at that place, miserable, unhappy, wanting to get out, but I never left, I never gave up. I want my degree!!

Commissary, oh commissary, How do I love thee? Let me count the ways: I love thee to almost the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when you are within sight I love thee to the level of everyday's Most urgent need, by stove and oven's light I love thee freely, as men strive for Right I love thee purely, with undying praise. I love thee with a passion put to use By my culinary griefs and child-like faith I love thee with a love I shall never lose While ingredients stand ready -- with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life! -- and, if I could choose, I would love thee even after death *Based on the poem by Elizabeth Barret Browning

Wow, it just hit me this very instant - I'm homesick for Michigan and my family. Very homesick. Quite homesick. I want to run back north and hide under my parents' bed so no one can find me and drag me back down here. I miss my dog. I know he's dead, but being away from the house makes it harder to accept this, since he's living in my memories and I can think of him as still being there all I want without having to confront reality. UPDATE: As always God is good and merciful. No sooner had I pressed the submit button than my phone rang and it was EJ on the line. Him: Guess what, hon. I'm coming home for lunch today! [This never happens] Me (blubbering): I'm ... so ... homesick! *cries more* Him: Well, do you want to laugh? Me: *sniffles* Y-yeah. And he proceeded to regale me with anecdotes from that morning. I feel much better now that hubby's on his way home. =)

I have to admit, I'm sort of dragging my feet. Tomorrow, however, I hope to have my resume fully updated so I can send it off with some applications. I'm just hoping I don't get offered a managerial position. I can't handle that kind of responsibility - or people yelling at me - right now. Maybe when I'm 50 and have some more experience dealing with people I'll be able to, but not right now.

Wow, things have been absolutely insane around here - not insane as in fast paced, but crazy with all of the stuff we have to unpack and fit into a three closet apartment with a 25 square foot kitchen. It's been quite eye opening as to just how much stuff we have and use and it really is true, there's nothing like moving to make you throw out half your stuff. I have been a bit discouraged since coming down here. I'm so busy unpacking and sorting through things (and it's taking forever ) that I'm beginning to wonder when it all will return to normal - although, what is normal? The piles o' stuff have been drastically reduced, however, so there is a light on the horizon. Hopefully, I'll be able to post some pictures of our little apartment soon. I think that's quite appropriate: my first blog pictures are of my first apartment. =) It's been great just hanging out with EJ (although, he had his wisdom teeth out yesterday, so he's a little doped up on

I have moved and am now living with EJ! Hurrah!!! We moved Wednesday - packed up a Penske truck and hauled our stuff into the great unknown (well, unknown for me; EJ's been living here for about 4 months now). Our apartment is the size of a postage stamp and I seriously have no idea where I'm going to put half our stuff. My books alone take up an area the size of our bathroom. I love being on my own, but it's scary as all get out because now I'm entirely responsible for myself, something with which I have no experience. Oh well. Such is life. =)

Spring in Michigan is almost a non-event. If it weren't for the rain, you'd never quite know if it was still coming or if you'd already missed it. Today is our second day in the high 70s! Our first was last week, but then it dropped back down to the 30s and everyone was miserable again. Now I'm just not sure if we're finally into Summer of if this could appropriately be called Spring. Usually right around the end of April we go from Winter to Summer in about the space of three weeks, with Spring squished in somewhere between the two. God has created a quirky world. =) EDIT: Spring it still is! Rain, rain, a-pourin' down.

Wow. **Ring Ring** EJ: Honey, what should I get my bachelor's degree in? Me: Umm.... EJ: Yeah, that's what I was thinking, too. Me: Entrepreneur? Computer Security? EJ: Doctor? Me: FOCA? EJ: I will never, ever perform any procedure that violates my conscience, the Hippocratic oath or God's holy law. Me: ...Alright then. ~~End Call~~ **Ring Ring** EJ: Honey, how would you feel if I collected enough credits to almost get a bachelors and then joined the Navy as an officer? Me: *absolutely stunned silence* EJ: And became a doctor. They would pay for my medical school. Me: Do it! ~~End Call~~ Thank you, Jesus

I really wish we hadn't buried Max's noogie with him. I just want to hold onto something tangible that he loved. It's too late now. It breaks my heart.

(Sorry if this doesn't make much sense. I just sort of sat down and shot it off - there's really no rhyme or reason to it.) Many of the blogs I read have made posts at one point or another in their bloggy existence about eating simply, healthily, and frugally. In two weeks or so I'll be heading down south to set up permanent residence with EJ and this topic has been weighing heavily on my mind. I still have so much to learn. The environmental standpoint is only one aspect from which I look, self-sufficiency and survivalism are much higher on my list. So my thought process goes more like "How easy would it be to sustain our diet as it is right now if we were cut off from all importation lines?" What then? Too, how much does it cost to buy all those extraneous items when you could be eating a simple, semi-vegetarian diet from hunting or your own gardens - or, if you don't have readily available lands, from container plants, bulk sales, or farmer's markets? I

Today I became a catechumen of the Orthodox Church. Glory be to God forever! He is risen!

...I don't miss meat. (o.0) I went from eating meat at nearly every meal to being a vegetarian for 40 days (and vegan on Wednesdays and Fridays) and, though I grow tired of the boring veggie meals offered by my school, I realized that I actually don't miss the meat. Hmmm, I wonder how long this will last once Lent is over.

We put Max down yesterday. He was little more than a bloated seal of his former self - it was the right thing to do. When I came home from school, I found him wrapped in a blanket, snuggled up with Mom, struggling to breathe. His back half had collapsed and we had to literally drag him outside on the carpet on which he was laying because he just couldn't move, then we had to hold him up to let him go to the bathroom - and he couldn't even go. He kept looking up at us with his big brown eyes - pretty much the only part of him that still seemed to work - as though to ask, "Why are you doing this to me? Just let me be." When the boys got home from school (they were released early because Mom scheduled the appointment for 5:30 and wanted them to have a good amount of time to say goodbye), Max tried to get up and run to the door to greet them as was his old habit, but could only lift his head and flail his back legs helplessly. It broke my heart and of course the boys, who

***That's Max in my new profile pic*** And, on the heels of that joyous news , my mom just called to tell me our family dog, Max, is dying. Max stats: Brittany Spaniel 11 years old Diseased up the wazoo Fat as a jelly roll Unless a miracle occurs, probably has less than a week to live Max has gone downhill this past year, but we put him on medication for his heart and everything seemed to be under control, then within the last month his health suddenly jumped off a cliff and has been in a free-fall. Today, it seems to have hit bottom. It's so painful to watch your puppy dying before your eyes - I'm so thankful I haven't had to watch a person whom I love do that, yet. Thankfully, the vet has him in her clinic where she can monitor his vitals. My family has decided to cancel their Spring Break Florida trip in case decisions need to be made or Max passes away within the next week. True thanks be to God for creating an animal whom we can love and be loved by.

He's a corporal now!!!! =D =D =D Being an NCO means blood stripes on his blue pants ... and ... and ... a sword. ^_^ This year has been one of crazy fast promotions, mostly because he just picked a really lucky time to enlist - now we have to sit back and wait for sergeant. ^_^

Isn't it funny how a child is able to forgive his or her parents to an almost sacrificial degree or, on the other hand, to hate them with a passion far exceeding that which he or she may have for any other person. Though a child who has been adopted may never have met their birth mother, they still probably feel strong emotions towards them one way or another. When she came of age, my older half-sister, whom my mother had given up for adoption because she would have been unable to care for her as a single parent in the military, sought out and found mom on her own once she turned 17. What is it about parents ( blood relation ) that has such a grip on our minds that those to whom we are less related or perhaps not related at all simply cannot compete with? My father is a frustrating man. Many's the time I've wanted to scream in his face that I hate him and never want to see him again. Though he has many good attributes, he's bullied me, told me as a child that he was gl

Well, it's certainly been an interesting few days. EJ graduated on Monday! =D That's right, he's no longer in his MOS school, he's actually going to start work; today's his first day!! I've been kind of keeping it a secret that EJ was offered a job at Quantico to work on the Presidential helicopter fleet because I wanted to know for certain whether or not he'd get the security clearance needed before I went and plastered it all over the internet. As it stands now, it's not looking good. Things were going well right up until - literally - the day he was supposed to leave. Then his orders came and, oh whoops , looks like he's not going to Quantico. This doesn't mean he absolutely, 100% won't get the job (since it takes up to six weeks to get security clearance), but it's doubtful. So, it's off to his original duty station. Gotta love the military. (One thing that would have been delightful about the job at Quantico was that he wouldn

There's something growing - something engorging itself upon the innocent minds of English speakers. It daily encroaches, becoming more and more sinister with each passing usage. It's not a drug. It's not a weapon. It's something much subtler ... something known as the comparative . Example. "My car is better than your car." Simple enough, ja? The sentence compares one car to another. How would you feel, though, if I said something like this: "My car is more better than your car." Aside from the potential for arrogance in that statement, using "more" with the ending "-er" is incorrect . Yet, I see just such a structure being used more and more by people who have no intention of being funny - heck, most of the time they're trying to be serious. So, this is one for the road kids: use either "more" or "-er", but don't use both together .

Something has been weighing on my heart for the past few months - the sacrosanctness of books. Why? Why are books so exalted while television and even radio is looked down upon? What have books done to make them so holy, so untouchable, whereas "Turn off that darn TV!!" is a constant phrase in my own home. Can't books be just as smutty, just as frivolous, just as vapid as television? Don't try to tell me that The Devil Wears Prada is somehow automatically better simply by being in book form than "The Bells of St. Mary's" . Yet, that is exactly what people seem to mean when I hear them screech, "Turn off the stupid TV and read a book!" Reading is just as sedentary an activity as television, it will ruin your eyes faster than television, but, for some reason, the fact that books force you to imagine the story yourself rather than it being shown to you is held as the evidence that books are inherently better. Why am I suddenly posting this now w

I just got back from a weekend in D.C. with EJ. We visited Mt. Vernon on Saturday and the National Air and Space Museum on Sunday (can you guess which place was picked by whom? =P). It was so much fun. I'm taking a special studies class on C.S. Lewis and am learning oodles and gobs about the man and his works. In a way, knowing that he wasn't perfect - and that, yes, it's perfectly fine if I don't agree with everything he says - has helped me gain a greater appreciation for his works. We've read The Great Divorce and Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer , the teacher has outlined for us the arguments in The Personal Heresy and we're now working on An Experiment in Criticism . The professor is constantly forcing us to engage in debates over Lewis' viewpoints, but I don't usually participate in them, preferring to sit back and form my own opinions quietly. The same few people are usually the ones arguing and, often enough, they haven't thought throu

I have no children of my own yet, wich means all of my thoughts come from the outside looking in, but I've been thinking lately about bearing children in the midst of the largest government takeover scheme since FDR (or maybe Jimmy Carter, I'm not very up on my 20th cent. American history). I'm also wondering how long it's going to take the government to move from essentially taking over such industries as automobile manufacturing to taking total control of our kids, communist style. I'm left wondering if having children is even a good idea when they could potentially be ripped from my arms and sent to state indoctrination centers leaving me with little to no influence over, or even contact with, them. I know about the demographic winter we're facing and, believe me, EJ can tell you how badly I want kids, so it says something that I'd actually consider not having any just so the state can't get their dirty, greedy hands on them. But then I realize that .

Huh. This is so odd. EJ found out where he's being stationed today. He thought at first that he'd try and be funny and tell me he got unaccompanied orders to Japan for two years - and I hung up on him. Then he told me where he really got put and ... well ... it's not Michigan. It's in the south. I'm not a southerner; I'm a yankee to the core. =} I've lived the majority of my life in Michigan. Sure, I've visited other places - a lot of places, in fact, but I can't really remember living anywhere other than the mitten. I'll miss showing people where I live using my hand. I'll miss the Michigan accents. I'll miss the snow. I'll miss the seasons. I'll miss making fun of the Canadians. Basically, I'll miss everything but the nanny-like, bloated government run by a former Canadian . Ugh. I hate the heat. Okay, I'm waxing sentimental. Sorry. I'll go reminisce about my home state alone. At least I'm not leaving until May.

My class schedule for this semester: Contemporary Religious Thought Medieval Philosophy Special Studies: C.S. Lewis Early TV Westerns (my "easy A" class) Seminar: From Beowulf to Berty Wooster (or "How British Humor Waxed 'Wode'") Punishment and the Western Tradition Beginning Spanish II If it weren't for the fact that I don't want to be here, I'd say I love my school. I'm starting to kind of panic because I need ONE more credit beyond these classes to graduate - just one - and I can't seem to find it anywhere; I haven't got much longer to pick a class. I think I'd have a break down if I had to stay even the few extra weeks it would take for summer school. For real, pray God I find a class. For Most People, College is a Waste of Time =)

Hello again! No, I'm not dead! The past three weeks have been simply wonderful. EJ was able to get Christmas leave and we were able to spend the whole time together as husband and wife. It was so nice - so beyond nice. Christmas was a blast. Thanks to the generosity of my parents and relatives, I now pretty much have everything I need for a kitchen. The only thing I can think of that we're still missing are steak knives, but that's it - heck, we even have tupperware. =P I also got married ... er ... again ... sort of. We had a wedding ceremony for the family complete with wedding gown, dress blues, and a cake. It was really fun and I'm glad the family got to be there. I think it helped cement the fact that I'm married in their minds better than me just telling them. The last week of break (so, last week) I spent at EJ's base. That was a bit harder, because I knew we only had a week left and he had to be in class until 4:30 every day, but it was still lovely. All