A (Long) Word From Joel

Well, this sure has been so fun living in this in-between world. We're in between school and jobs, just living. It's great having so much time to spend with each other and explore this new beautiful place that God has granted us the opportunity to live in. However, it is a bit unnerving knowing that we are making basically no money and will be existing on loans or a scholarship that requires indebted servitude after my time as a student, not to mention not having a car. I will come back to the no car thing in a moment because it deserves is own little discourse, but I want to make it clear that I am not complaining, just stating the thoughts that are ever-present in my mind. I'll spell it out real simply. Here's a glimpse into my subconscious/conscious, depending on the situation and awe factor that is occurring at the moment: "Wow, this is so fun. All I have to do is sleep, eat, fix up or home, that's right, a HOME. NOT an apartment, a home. In addition we get to be in an incredible city and explore it. The city has so much and there is so much to see and do. Oh yeah, we don't have a car yet. Oh yeah, we have to get one. Ahhhh, money! Oh man, what about the school loans vs. the scholarship? What about the car? Do we get new or used? (I won't go into detail but I go into the pro/con argument for each.} I have to map out a route to school. Oh, that's right, I have to go to school in less than a month and then all this gallivanting will be over and it'll be nose in the books and trying to remember what being rested is like. Oh look at those mountains, aren't they beautiful? I love the weather here." So that is sort of what the stew in my mind looks like, if you will.

Now the car. We don't have any mode of transportation ourselves besides ourselves, meaning foot or bike. It has been great to walk everyday and go places on foot. It is so much more healthy and fun and invigorating. It's a great time just walking and talking with Jenny. It is not fast, but it sure is friendly. We love it. Then there is biking. We just got Jenny's bike back from the guy who tuned it up, that would be a whole other post about this guy, he's pretty cool. Anyway, we are now both mobile on wheels. It is so fun. It is faster too. Now, I think that it is probably the most perfect way to commute around a town, almost any town, even if they are bike unfriendly like most of Texas' towns. I know I was just as fast in San Marcos on a bike as I was in a car. It's great. Again, it's healthier for the rider and the environment. What makes it so unbelievable up here, besides the ideal weather and the mountainous backdrop, is that this city is set up with bikes and pedestrians in mind, almost as a primary thought with vehicles as a secondary mode of transportation. So, we have not missed the car too much. However, this riding around and walking to and fro is wonderful and healthy and clean, but it is dependent on good weather and one cannot go very far or carry much at all, which probably is not a bad thing most of the time. We still are planning on getting a car soon but hope to keep our car parked as much as possible and use our feet and legs as much as we can.

Jenny. What an explosion of wonderful personality that this move or city or phase in life has brought out in her. She is perfectly wonderful. It is so fun to watch her around the house, again I must emphasize that we live in a HOUSE, and getting things together and arranging this and that. I love watching her wash the dishes (we don't have a dishwasher) or scurry about in the kitchen or move boxes around or really just about everything she does. She got a shot of energy from somewhere and I love it. This place is inspiring and I know she is glad to not be going away to work everyday, she kind of likes being at home as much as possible so this is right up her alley. I love watching her walking to the coffee shop and sit there without a care. She is so cute in the little coffee shop just punching away on her laptop and getting her work done or updating this blog or whatever else she does on-line. It's fun to see her having fun and enjoying herself, especially since I am responsible for ripping her away from her family and taking her to some far off place, again. But at least it has a magnificent beauty rating, which helps a lot. It has been so much fun reducing our "stuff" from "stuff" to things we actually use. I like how she is not into sentimentality too much, actually I am the one that wants to keep more stuff than she does. She is so practical, it's wonderful. We have pared down quite a bit and our home is the better for it. We are finding that we need way, way, way less than we have. It feels like weights being lifted off our backs to get rid of things that we do not use. Anyway, back to Jenny.

I have a story from today that will be backed up with pictures shortly. Well, it has snowed the last couple of days, which is mind-blowing to us Texans, and both days we have gone out in the "elements". See, again, that is something that Jenny and I refer to as the new "SLC Jenny" does, goes out in the elements and doesn't mind them much. Yesterday it was walking to the coffee shop and the grocery store in some pretty heavy snow and some rain, but today it was just cool/cold when we went on our ride. I brought her bike back from the "bike guy" and then the next thing I know I look out the window after a stint in the basement and see Jenny riding around in circles in our driveway/alley/yard thing. It was cute, funny, hysterical, wonderful, and out of nowhere all at once. I just looked out through the glass panes and smiled. She told me she was "warming up" for our big ride to the library. Well, I had no idea that she was going to be scaring ME on our ride. I was being cautious and trying to keep her from harm and then again, the next thing I know I look back and see Jenny riding on about a foot of sidewalk right next to rushing traffic and dodging trees along the way with the calmest look on her face. I was nearly mortified, but mainly amazed, at her skill and boldness. I have to say though, that just writing about it made my heart rate rise again. She was a little trooper, no that sounds like she was toughing something out, she wasn't, she was enjoying it and reveling in it. Talk about filling my love tank, I got extra love bubbling all over the place. Then, this is now the story I set out to write about at the beginning, we went to the grocery store on the way home, which I think we have been to everyday since we moved up here. We bought some stuff, ended up being four pretty weighty bags. Jenny had two and I had two. Again, the next thing I know Jenny has her bags on her handle bars and is waiting for me to get settled so we can go. As she road home I almost wrecked into a number of parked cars on the way while I was riding and looking and smiling at Jenny as we rode together. She would look at me and say she was having so much fun. What a woman! That's the story folks, Jenny on a bike bringing her groceries home on her handle bars and lovin' it.