New Toys

It has been a while since my last post which means I am getting busier at work... thankfully! It definitely makes the day go by faster when I have active deals coming across my desk. And it reminds me that I do like the kind of work I do. The big highlight of my work week so far has been going to Office Depot to get some office supplies. I got some things to organize my desk and my inbox and some nice pens and highlighters. I also brought in some pictures and stuff from home to decorate my desk. It is amazing what a transformation it has on my mood at work. It makes it feel a little more homey and like I belong here as opposed to being the new person who is out of my element. So I am excited and having a good week so far. Plus I found out yesterday that we are closed three whole days next week in honor of the fourth of July. HA! How awesome is that?! A 5 day weekend! And I don't even have to take any vacation time. I'm not sure what I will do with myself during that time since Don will be working but I'm not complaining by any means. Maybe I will get out and find the dog park or something.

Since I last wrote to you, Don and I have purchased a new toy - a 42" High Definition Television. It is amazing how much money you spend moving into a new place and the things that you convince yourself that you "need." Like the big blank white wall in the living room that our 27" television just looks so small and out of place. We "needed" a bigger television to balance out the room. Boy are we suckers. But at least we found a good deal on it. We did some research, read some reviews, checked out the stores and costco, and then found one that we were satisfied with on Craigslist for half the price.

So given the good deal we found, we are happy with our purchase and enjoying the luxury of our new toy. We watched Pan's Labyrinth and Bridge to Teribithia on it last weekend and the quality was excellent. Of course now that we have an HDTV, Don is convinced that we "need" an XBOX 360 because our Play Station 2 can't produce as high visual quality games as the XBOX Zombie game he really wants. Well, given the amount of cash we have spent recently in the process of moving and settling into our new home, after this last purchase it will be a while before we buy another new toy. But at least we will have something to do now while we are staying in and not spending money.

Don and I have also started going to a new church the last two weekends. They are pretty great - a Reconciled in Christ Congregation which means that they welcome gay people into the full inclusion of church life. They actually have an intentional ministry to the GLBT community but they have a few straight folks as well. Don and I just like the church because it is a real Lutheran Church with a real Lutheran Liturgy and very good preaching. We feel comfortable there and it is so exciting to worship together again after having been on such different places on our spiritual journeys in the last couple of years. When Don and I started going back to church together, I thought I would like most the fact that I had somebody to sit with in the pew. While I certainly love that of course, what I am finding that I love even more is the theological conversations that we have on the car ride home about the sermons. That was such a big part of our relationship throughout our friendship from the beginning and I didn't realize how much I missed it and how much I enjoyed it until these last couple of weeks.

The pastors both seem very cool as well. Last night Pastor Sue had us over to her house in Burbank for Dinner and we had a great time telling her about ourselves and hearing some of her story as well. She was among the first generation of women who were ordained and it took her two years after she graduated from Seminary to even get an interview! And her favorite quote is, "God promised us the kingdom but instead we ended up with the church." She is an insightful woman and a hoot. I think she will be a great mentor and pastor. The church's name is St Matthew's if you would like to check it out. The website is a little bit outdated but it will give you an idea about the place.

Also, on Sunday night we had a chance to catch up with an old friend from PLU - Curt. We hadn't seen him since our wedding (3 1/2 years ago) and he looked great! Right now he lives about 20 minutes away from us but he and his fiance are getting married in a few months and they are looking to sell their current place (he and his sister own the house together) and move into their own house a little further out. Anyway, it was wonderful to catch up with Curt and his fiance was just wonderful. Despite the fact that she had a migraine she cooked us the most amazing homemade enchilada dinner and hung out with us all night and was a completely gracious host. We approve Curt! We are looking forward to seeing them again and spending more time with them.