So as many of you know, the physical part of moving is by the easiest part of moving to a new place. It takes weeks to figure out your basic information and where to get a pizza, months to finally get your mail delivered to the right place the first time, and it can take years to feel that you've reached some level of connectedness in the community.
Well, while we may not be completely there yet...we're getting closer. The past couple weeks have been quiet in the sense of us taking very few and very small "adventures" (so small, we have no pictures to show of them). To me, this is a sign that we're starting to settle in a bit.
Two weekends ago we had the opportunity to go to a small social event that our small group from our church held. We all met out at a small state park, grilled out, and watched the few little kids that belonged to the group run around and blow bubbles at each other. It was a fantastically nondescript weekend.
This past weekend was my first duty weekend (which lasted from Wednesday afternoon through Sunday morning). Now I understand the reason we don't take a week at a time. I was up until 5:30 in the morning Friday night and up again for a good portion of Saturday night. It was family weekend, so I thought the parents might cool things down, but all they did was create more work for me. Every single maintenance issue you could imagine was brought up, along with having parents call the police every time they saw something they thought was a violation or was just plain wrong. Not to mention, Girls Gone Wild was filming about a ten-minute walk away from my area (I don't think a link to that site is necessary for you to get the picture).
On a good note, Liz and I drove around and checked out some of the smaller towns that satellite off of the main road into Carbondale. We found a park that we enjoyed walking around and plan to take more time to explore these little places.
As far as my job goes, I'm pretty excited about what I'm accomplishing. I've started (with the help of Ellen) a professional development series for our RA's that is completely optional. Our first session is in two weeks, but RA's have already started signing up for it. My supervisor's on board and is considering having me design a curriculum for an RA class. I don't know so much about that yet; we'll see. In addition to this, I've been assigned to help with RA recruitment and selection, RA training, and professional staff recruitment. I'll also be representing SIUC at GLACUHO this year.
Liz started her first day on the job at the specific bank branch she's working at today. When she went into the bank this morning, there were flowers, a card welcoming her, and donuts and juice. They also took her out to lunch! Liz was pleasantly surprised to find out that the people she is working with go to the same church as us and open about talking about religion. They actually said that they had been praying that the right person be hired! Knowing that we were also praying on this side that Liz find the right job, we're feeling pretty dang good about it.
Adventures to look forward to: A Midsummer's Night Dream, my sister's wedding, and a killer Halloween Party (to say the least). Next time we'll come up with some pictures, even if they're lame. Promise.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Halloween's A'Coming
Hey, everybody!
We know it has been two weeks, but we've put up not just this blog, but two others for you to read, all in one night. So when you're done reading this entry, make sure to read the two below (and those are more picture reading than words, so we're sure you can handle it).
Life is starting to get some sense of routine to it, but a few items remain in flux. For example, our time at the Rec hasn't fallen into a routine; it just happens when we get it to. Also, Liz has had the awesome opportunity to work as a bank teller part-time at MidCountry Bank right here in Carbondale! While the optometry center was a great place to work, it wasn't the right place for Liz. Also, the bank seems to be more than okay with the fact that Liz may be a student in the spring studying to get her MBA in finance.
The big step forward we've had life-wise is finding a church that we love. We've only been there two weeks, but we found a small group that really meets our needs and seems to be in the same place in life. Everybody in the group is in their 20's and 30's, and pretty much everybody has or is getting their bachelor's or master's. There are two little kids in the group, one on the way, and another couple trying, so it is a great place to be.
Also, another necessity that Liz had expressed concern about...Where were we going to find a Halloween Store? Well, luckily, we were able to find one of those, too. Yes, it is officially the middle of September, which means Liz and I are planning our Halloween party. For the most part, we're between two themes right now, feel free to share your thoughts:
An Adam's Family/Edgar Allen Poe party: We don't have a name figured out yet for the party, but the idea would be to have a traditional gothic feel with the crows, strobe lights, random skeletons, body parts, etc. While narrowing it down to a specific theme isn't required, it would provide a nice spooky feel for the party. Liz is considering making a few creepy looking dolls. It could work out awesome.
Another idea is a Monster Mash: This could mean the classic monsters (Frankenstein, etc) but we're thinking more along the lines of a laboratory setting with random little neon monsters and such (something like a cross between the Fraggles and the Labrynth). We might save this one for the future as it seems pretty kid-friendly.
Anyway, those are the thoughts so far. Give us an address and expect an invitation. You know it. Halloween is our Christmas, so expect us to be missing you dearly.
We know it has been two weeks, but we've put up not just this blog, but two others for you to read, all in one night. So when you're done reading this entry, make sure to read the two below (and those are more picture reading than words, so we're sure you can handle it).
Life is starting to get some sense of routine to it, but a few items remain in flux. For example, our time at the Rec hasn't fallen into a routine; it just happens when we get it to. Also, Liz has had the awesome opportunity to work as a bank teller part-time at MidCountry Bank right here in Carbondale! While the optometry center was a great place to work, it wasn't the right place for Liz. Also, the bank seems to be more than okay with the fact that Liz may be a student in the spring studying to get her MBA in finance.
The big step forward we've had life-wise is finding a church that we love. We've only been there two weeks, but we found a small group that really meets our needs and seems to be in the same place in life. Everybody in the group is in their 20's and 30's, and pretty much everybody has or is getting their bachelor's or master's. There are two little kids in the group, one on the way, and another couple trying, so it is a great place to be.
Also, another necessity that Liz had expressed concern about...Where were we going to find a Halloween Store? Well, luckily, we were able to find one of those, too. Yes, it is officially the middle of September, which means Liz and I are planning our Halloween party. For the most part, we're between two themes right now, feel free to share your thoughts:
An Adam's Family/Edgar Allen Poe party: We don't have a name figured out yet for the party, but the idea would be to have a traditional gothic feel with the crows, strobe lights, random skeletons, body parts, etc. While narrowing it down to a specific theme isn't required, it would provide a nice spooky feel for the party. Liz is considering making a few creepy looking dolls. It could work out awesome.
Another idea is a Monster Mash: This could mean the classic monsters (Frankenstein, etc) but we're thinking more along the lines of a laboratory setting with random little neon monsters and such (something like a cross between the Fraggles and the Labrynth). We might save this one for the future as it seems pretty kid-friendly.
Anyway, those are the thoughts so far. Give us an address and expect an invitation. You know it. Halloween is our Christmas, so expect us to be missing you dearly.
The Misadventures of Liz & Steve: Cascade of Colors
Hey, everyone! 
We went to a Hot Air Balloon Festival! Repeat...we went to a Hot Air Balloon Festival! It was called the Cascade of Colors and happens every year.
This was just last weekend that we went and it was amazing. Before you get too excited, no...we didn't get to ride in a hot air balloon. We wanted to, but the only option was to take a "static ride," which meant they never untethered the balloon and you only got to hover about thirty feet above the ground. No thanks, we'll take the real deal, please; but, we did get a phone number of a business that gives hot air balloon rides.
There were about twenty balloons total, but instead of putting all of the photos we took on here, we'll just show you a sampling throughout the blog. Of course, I was partial to one in particular...
As night came on, there were a few cover bands that played and the balloons participated in a "Balloon Glow." The pictures don't do justice to the magical quality of being in a pitch black field surrounded by hot air balloons that are glowing like giant fireflies. It was an amazing experience that we look forward to having again.
If you ever have the chance to check it out, you should. We'll be there. We might even give you a place to stay. Until next time, enjoy the ride you're on (even if it isn't a hot air balloon).
We went to a Hot Air Balloon Festival! Repeat...we went to a Hot Air Balloon Festival! It was called the Cascade of Colors and happens every year. This was just last weekend that we went and it was amazing. Before you get too excited, no...we didn't get to ride in a hot air balloon. We wanted to, but the only option was to take a "static ride," which meant they never untethered the balloon and you only got to hover about thirty feet above the ground. No thanks, we'll take the real deal, please; but, we did get a phone number of a business that gives hot air balloon rides. Anyway, the balloon festival was amazing. We drove out to a small regional airport and pretty much walked through a bunch of fields to get to the balloons. At first, we thought we going to get ripped off because we only saw one balloon, but about twenty minutes after we got there they started growing up from the ground. The neatest part was that we were able to walk right up to the balloons! The more we explored, the more started popping up around us.
There were about twenty balloons total, but instead of putting all of the photos we took on here, we'll just show you a sampling throughout the blog. Of course, I was partial to one in particular...As night came on, there were a few cover bands that played and the balloons participated in a "Balloon Glow." The pictures don't do justice to the magical quality of being in a pitch black field surrounded by hot air balloons that are glowing like giant fireflies. It was an amazing experience that we look forward to having again.If you ever have the chance to check it out, you should. We'll be there. We might even give you a place to stay. Until next time, enjoy the ride you're on (even if it isn't a hot air balloon).The Misadventures of Liz & Steve: A Kentucky Family Reunion
Here's a warm, Kentucky welcome for you... 
A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to travel to two family reunions near Somerset, Kentucky. Both of Liz's maternal grandparents have family reunions over Labor Day weekend. We were expecting to have to drive over a couple of mountains to get there, but for the most part, it was a smooth and easy drive. Liz used to attend these reunions with her grandparents all of the time, but hadn't recently been able to get to the foothills in Kentucky.
The weekend ended up being awesome. We had a ton of fantastic food and snagged a recipe for the best sweet potato casserole that you may never get to try unless you visit us.
My favorite part of the entire weekend was that Liz's grandpa's family reunion was held outside of a small church in the mountains. The family reunion had always been held there, because that is where their parents were buried. As we ate food, we were literally facing the cemetary. It just seemed that there was a whole lot of peace in that place. I had the chance to sit next to Liz's grandpa as we ate and talked, and I wondered what it would be like to be chomping down on some peanut butter pie while in view of your the burial site of both of your parents. Maybe with God and with age we get better with death.
Okay, that was deep; I'll wrap it up. The weekend went great and then we had Dairy Queen for breakfast. What else is there to say?
A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to travel to two family reunions near Somerset, Kentucky. Both of Liz's maternal grandparents have family reunions over Labor Day weekend. We were expecting to have to drive over a couple of mountains to get there, but for the most part, it was a smooth and easy drive. Liz used to attend these reunions with her grandparents all of the time, but hadn't recently been able to get to the foothills in Kentucky.As the time approached, Liz's excitement went up, and I looked forward to meeting a whole bunch of relatives that had never met me (okay, so I had mixed feelings about whether it would actually be relaxing).
My reservations really lied in not having any reservations (get my play on words?). We were staying at a relative's house and our welcoming committee looked like this...
The weekend ended up being awesome. We had a ton of fantastic food and snagged a recipe for the best sweet potato casserole that you may never get to try unless you visit us. My favorite part of the entire weekend was that Liz's grandpa's family reunion was held outside of a small church in the mountains. The family reunion had always been held there, because that is where their parents were buried. As we ate food, we were literally facing the cemetary. It just seemed that there was a whole lot of peace in that place. I had the chance to sit next to Liz's grandpa as we ate and talked, and I wondered what it would be like to be chomping down on some peanut butter pie while in view of your the burial site of both of your parents. Maybe with God and with age we get better with death.Okay, that was deep; I'll wrap it up. The weekend went great and then we had Dairy Queen for breakfast. What else is there to say?
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