Wowsas

I had no clue.

Val and I were g-chatting yesterday and I mentioned how "I think people read our blog, even if we don't have any comments." We checked our stats. It's true.

Apparently you have found a place in your heart for this odd array of personal stories, likes, dislikes, and our random journeys. Thank you for walking with us. That being said - I've had quite a few people ask some questions about some previous posts and now I shall endeavor to answer them (and probably make up some other random stuff.)

1. The neighbors DID come over for dinner last week! Two different couples, two and a half hours of eating and conversation that led to quite a few laughs and some warm smiles all around. Since that time I have met kiddos AND been invited to a culdesac block party in two weeks. Is this real life?! Y'all. This is Arizona. No one does this! I am SO excited. "Meeting my neighbors" has been on my yearly goals since moving to this state. I am finally making good on a goal.

2. Valerie DID come to visit and she made a great video about it. But here's the question I've been asked regarding that visit: "How was your time with your sister?" It was great! Val and I have a lot of similar quirks and interests (BBQ, books, movies, tv, Texas, Morbys) but we also are pretty different. I think that we vacation quite differently. That being said, I had a great time just catching up for a few days. We went out, we stayed in, we walked my little neighborhood and basked in the sun, we laughed, we made my husband shake his head... we even tried to locate some home movies. Having Val here was a GREAT birthday gift!

3. "What are you working on?" Since October I've been working on a manuscript for a book, writing children's curriculum for a local church, setting up speaking engagements, and... building a website. It's a whole lot of dreams all at once and they are all wrangling for first place in my time and thoughts. But it looks like (if all continues to go well this week) I will be taking my website LIVE next week. (Deep heaving breaths.) My target audience is young women 6th-12th graders and the site will have both written and video blog components. If you are willing I will need you on your best social media selves when the time comes - twitter, facebook, chalk. You name it and I will humbly ask for it.

4. I used to blog on and on about what I was reading and my mild obsession with my local library. Reading (especially fiction) took a back seat for a while, but I'm back in the saddle again. Latest books - and the order in which I might recommend them:

-The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones

-Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges

-Reflections On the Psalms by C.S. Lewis

-When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin (fiction)

-My Life as an Experiment by A.J. Jacobs

-The New Eve by Robert Lewis

5. Friday Night Lights makes me weep... every time. (We are halfway through season 4.)

6. I really feel like I had a lot more material going into this post than I do right now.

7. Sometimes... getting a blog comment is like getting a sticker on your 2nd grade handwriting paper or having someone bring you a Route 44 Diet Coke without you asking.

8. That's all.