Getting to know a little more about us...

My sister, Laurel, lifted this from Mama Hen over at Long days, Short years because it looked like fun and, more importantly, required very little effort. Since I agree with her about doing things that only require minimal effort, I decided to copy it from her and bolden the items both Mark and I have done in our lives thus far...

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world (both)
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped (This is all Mark)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (Sharon--in Africa)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (Mark, on a high school field trip) --I didn't realize you could still do this. I've been to the statue and walked around it. Does that count?
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon (this is on the to do list)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29 Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33 Seen Niagara Falls in person (Mark has)
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (again, Mark)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language--Does Ndebele count? Even if I can't speak it anymore?
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41 Sung karaoke (it's an art form in Tokyo, as Mark discovered first-hand)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45 Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted--do the crazy charachures at a carnival count?
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (How about Snuba?)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (do home movies count?)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60 Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64 Donated blood, platelets, or plasma
65. Gone sky diving (again all Mark)
66 Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67 Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79 Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (I suppose fish doesn't count...)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee--I haven't. Mark has.

Home Ownership Blues

The joys of homeownership continue to haunt my dreams. A few days ago it was the lights—(Cousin Andy came up with the solution so now our outdoor lights work—way to go Andy!). Now we have a water issue in the basement.

The Lord really has a way of getting me to notice things. See, if the light problem never happened, I wouldn’t have been in the basement and the door to the pump room would still be closed. So I wouldn’t have had a need to go down to the basement to shut the door. If none of that happened, I would still be going along on my merry way without discovering the large puddle of water on the carpet by the pump room door.

Apparently the pump that takes care of the air conditioner, humidifier and furnace moisture stopped working and water backed up in the pump room and overflowed into the finished part of our basement. I was quite annoyed at this little discovery. However, you should all be proud that I did not have a break down or a major freaked-out moment.

Our extremely home-apparatuses knowledgeable neighbors literally bailed us out (again). Our neighbor actually went to Home Depot for us to purchase a new pump and all the necessary parts to go with it. Then he took the time to install it for us all in the same evening. Thank you Mr. K.

Thankfully the humidifier is back on because it is supposed to get to -10 degrees this week. We were already feeling dry…little Ella has a stuffy nose and a little cough after only one night and day of low humidity levels in the house. Surprise, surprise, it is snowing right now outside. It literally snows every single day here. We are getting another 4 to 6 inches tonight and a blizzard is supposed to hit tomorrow. Joy.

Ella Rolls Over

Well, that's one way to get out of doing tummy time.