The one about the kitchen sink

I have noticed something funny about our new house (our beautiful new home that we are so so happy to be in!). I am hoping that this serves as an excuse for why I have not been blogging recently. Moving across town and starting school again proved to be too much for my new blogging self.
The faucet of our kitchen sink has two settings. The first is a gentle but steady amount of water that increases or decreases as you raise and lower the handle. It is more than capable of cleaning our dishes, hands, and whatever else might fall in it. The other setting is Niagara falls. You press the little button, and all of a sudden the gentle/steady flow turns into a deluge of epic proportions. You become instantly soaked as the water sprays uncontrollably off of whatever object it happens to come into contact with--especially if said item is tilted at any sort of angle.
If you recall my post about being on a boat going 40 mph in a rainstorm, you can apply similar ideas here.
Having observed these facts about our sink, I have also observed that the little buttons that create each setting may as well be labeled M and F. I think that my preference for the first setting is fairly obvious at this point, so it follows that Thomas never uses the sink without pressing the other button. He appears happy to leave the kitchen looking like he has just stepped off of Noah's Ark, marveling at the speed at which he completed the dishwashing because of the "amazing water pressure."
So, if you come to our house, be warned. If Thomas was the last one at the helm in the kitchen, you will get soaked (and quickly!)

A List

Ways that I can see God's provision and blessing in my life right now (and reasons why I haven't been blogging much in the past few weeks!)

1. We are closing on our first house this Wednesday! This has felt like quite a process and we are so excited to get settled into a community and more importantly NOT TO HAVE TO MOVE AGAIN for a few years. yes! If you see smoke rising in the north Mt. Pleasant area this weekend, we might be having a huge bonfire of moving boxes (although we might not want to make the HOA mad in our first week there...)
2. School starts again on Thursday! Year Number Two of the Commute/Finishing up the Degree. I will be taking three classes and teaching one section of English 101 in the oh-so-lovely Welsh Humanities Building. This building vies for the prize of ugliest building on campus--and it really is a lovely campus--but sadly the Humanities Building blueprints must have been mixed up with a prison's. Anyways, I am excited to only be driving two days a week this semester.
3. My 24th birthday is on Friday! This will be my first birthday to celebrate as Ashley Grooms, and a fun way to start off the Weekend of Craziness.
4. The Weekend of Craziness involves moving galore, hosting both families ("hosting" is a loose term since we are asking them to bring their own towels, bedding and food :)) and leaving behind our first home. We have enjoyed a truly nice apartment for the last year or so.

...of ships and shoes and sealing wax

So it has been a few weeks...I apologize. Thomas and I have been sucked into the time-consuming vortex of Trying to Buy a House. Due to various factors beyond our control, we are now the poster children for our realtor of unsuccessful/crazy short sales. Thus, we have eliminated all short sales and are sticking with regular buyin' and sellin.'
I came across this passage during some wonderful down time this weekend and thought it was worth sharing with whomever reads this:

"To the degree that [one] seeks life from the creation, [one] will be dissatisfied and angry with God. Change will only take place as [we] recognize the god-replacements that rule [our] hearts, condition [our] emotions and control [our] behavior."
Instruments in the Redeemer's Hand, Paul David Tripp.

sand + laundry= sandry?

So, Thomas and I were lucky enough to hit up the beach twice this weekend (the joys of living on the coast!) embarrassingly enough for pretty much the first time this summer. Better late than never I suppose.
As glorious as the beach is--waves! swimming! interesting sea critters! sun! sand!--cleaning up from it is a pain. After coming home with approximately 622 bags/pieces of clothing/various beach items, we promptly dumped them into the laundry room and went off to relax (appreciate the irony of relaxing after a beach afternoon here). Washing all of the sandy stuff is not a problem. Rather, it is the 435993534875 particles of sand that get EVERYWHERE in 2. 5 seconds that creates the major problem. I was less than pleased today when I dumped a clean, dry load of clothes into a laundry basket that was coated with a fine layer of sand on the bottom. Definitely a doh! moment. So, if you find sand in your nice clean clothes this week Thomas, just think of it as a nice exfoliating treatment and remember the nifty star fish* you found and smile.

*T. discovered a star fish in a little tidal pool and brought it over to me to look at. On our way back to the tidal pool, he lost a leg trying to escape. It was totally bizarre--one minute the leg was there, the next minute, plop! into the sand. Operation Rescue was otherwise successful though.

of mice and men

This morning I trotted off to the Toyota dealership for a routine oil change and tire rotation--aka Pay a Lot, Wait a Lot, and Expect lots of Little Extra Charges. "Well, m'am we have found (insert x problem here) and if you don't pay money and fix it right now, your car will probably explode into 80 million pieces. But otherwise, it's totally up to you. "
Today was no different.
An hour and a half after giving them my keys, the gentleman helping me brings over some sort of air filter from the car. Only instead of just being dirty and gross, there was a NEST in it. Little bits of twig and hair and FUR. Mouse fur was the expert guess of the Toyota guy. He followed up with a few questions about if I park in a garage, and then advised me to switch around my parking place since sometimes mice can cause "wiring problems." Not to mention general GROSSNESS and smelliness. So my problem is that I park somewhere different every day....leaving my overactive imagination to wonder where this SuperMouse is living. Where will he pop up next?

book club bonanza

"Only as we see our story enfolded in the larger story of redemption will we begin to live God-honoring lives. Lasting change begins when our identity, purpose, and sense of direction are defined by God's story."
Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands, Paul David Tripp--July's book club selection

We all have our limits...

...but how often do we actually encounter them? In my experience, things happen that I don't care for or that I wish were not happening, but it is rare for me to actually feel and know that I am at the edge of what I know myself to be capable of handling. Cue Cold Mountain and a 4th of July backpacking trip.
The trip itself was mostly delightful--Thomas and I met up with a dear dear friend from college (Alli) and her PT school friend Betsy. The food was great, the weather was beautiful, everyone was healthy...and the hike kicked my butt! We were in the Pisgah region of the Blue Ridge and hiked up to 6030 feet, the top of Cold Mountain (yes, the one from the book and the movie). It was an arduous climb and descent to say the least, and I am even more grateful now for a loving and encouraging husband who responded in appropriately supportive ways to me when I said little gems like "Just leave me here" and "I'm never going backpacking again." Needless to say, I am happy to laugh at myself for being a drama queen and delighted to know that the Lord is truly the one who sustains us. And seeing Alli was truly wonderful. :)
Oh, and in another stellar move from the weekend, I almost caused us to run out of gas. in the middle of nowhere, NC. on windy mountain roads. near campgrounds displaying as much dixie paraphenalia as they can fit. oy vey. It's good to be home!