Wooot wooot!

Thankful Thursday came 3 days early this week! My iPad arrived! John has taken my laptop to use for school since his laptop was stolen early this year. We decided that it would make sense to get an iPad for me to use as my main home computer - much less expensive than a whole new Mac. I'm on the computer all day at work so I just wanted to be able to do some light web browsing at home. I can't wait to learn how to use it! Did I mention that John had it loaded with my iTunes and photos when I got home? He had even downloaded iBooks and Pride and Prejudice for me!

How YOU doin'?

I haven't updated the blog in a while, so I thought I'd check in and let y'all know how things are going...

School - John has started back to school, so we're adjusting our schedules to get used to a "school schedule" again.  It's nice this year because it's not a huge change from the summer.  While he had to work crazy retail hours last summer, he was given fairly standard Mon - Fri work hours this summer.  The adjustment for John will be spending his evening hours studying again; the hard part for me is that my evenings will be lonely again because he'll be off studying at school! 

Hobbies - I'm hoping to fill some of that evening time by dabbling in various hobbies.  I really want to take advantage of my evenings and be creative -- I know it's a total luxury to be home between 5 and 6:30 pm and not have kids to watch over, homework, etc!  This summer I've focused on my patio garden and learning a bit about canning.  For the fall I think I'll try to get going on the sewing machine again...

Home - I've made some fun changes around the apartment lately.  I tend to re-decorate and re-arrange whenever I feel like things start to feel...static.  John thinks that's pretty weird.  We moved our little dining room table into the kitchen recently, which has been great.  We use it a lot more in the kitchen -- John will sit and work on homework on his laptop and talk to me while I'm making dinner. :)  This weekend I decided to turn the old dining room into more of a study (his desk, printer, big map, lots of bookshelves, etc.).  We had my desk in there, but it's typically a COMPLETE disaster, so I've instead moved it into our extra bedroom to be more out of sight.  The extra bedroom used to be John's "study" but he doesn't ever use it, so I'm taking over!  I'll have to post some pictures when I'm finished.  Right now our house looks pretty bad because I've been moving furniture from room to room.  John asked me about my "mess" and I said he should instead call it my "project -- a mess with a purpose." 

Church - Oh, I love our church.  We got a new pastor recently and he's really good.  I was skeptical because I liked our old pastor (he's still around, just in a more administrative/director type role) and it's always an adjustment to listen to someone new.  But he's great, so I'm psyched.  I'm also excited about all that we've been learning in our financial group -- it's nice to go through this together so early in our marriage so that we know our priorities are aligned.

Career -  My current job is going well -- it's getting really busy!  Sometimes I still feel "new," but I've actually been at this job for 6 months!  It's not the most exciting job in the whole world, but I really like my co-workers and the work environment.  We were talking with some friends last night about work, and it reminded me once again that I am very lucky to work in a place that respects work-life balance.  As far as any future career plans...today I officially submitted my application for the MLIS (library) program, so keep your fingers crossed for me.  It's a step! 

Philadelphia

John and I returned Sunday night from a great trip to Philadelphia, Bensalem, and Hershey, PA.  We followed his mom up there (she left TN the day before us) to visit his aunt who lives in Bensalem.  His aunt Peggy has had some back trouble lately and we were really excited to just be able to hang out with her and see her.  We flew out of Nashville Friday night and they picked us up at the airport.  We expected to sleep on the floor at Peggy's apartment, but they decided to treat us for our anniversary and put us up in a hotel for our trip and gave us authentic PA chocolates!  That was a great surprise -- especially because our flight had been delayed and we were pretty exhausted.

Mmmm...chocolate pretzels

The next morning we headed up the PA Turnpike to visit my mother-in-law's best friend, Maureen.  They've been best friends since high school!  Maureen and her family (husband + 4 teen-age/college-age sons) hosted us for a lovely relaxed lunch and she showed us around Hershey.  Of course we had to visit Chocolate World! 

Yay...more chocolate

After visiting the free mini-museum and taking the tour/ride that explains to kids how chocolate is made, we hung out at the food court area that has booths selling every type of chocolate product imaginable and tons of non-chocolate Hershey's merchandise.  Unfortunately they no longer give tours of the real manufacturing process.  I didn't feel well from the drive and I'm not as chocolate-loving as my dear husband, so I had a nibble of my free sample and purchased a Christmas ornament instead.

No more for me, please

Hershey, PA (the city itself) really impressed me.  Milton Hershey wanted to provide well for his employees, so he built a model town all around the plant, providing his workers with lovely homes, community pools and recreation centers, schools, etc.  All this in the early 1900s.  Sort of like the SC mill towns, but nice. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hershey had no children so they started a boarding school for orphans or youth from difficult family situations to give them an education and a trade.  It is still open today and it is NICE!  Let me tell you, I'd go there!  The area has beautiful farmland too -- all that chocolate needs milk, and all those cows need corn or other feed, so you see corn fields on every corner.  One other thing I noticed about this area of PA is the lack of chain stores or " 's " restaurants -- most shops are mom and pop establishments, which is refreshing.

The city with Kisses for streetlights

The actual Hershey's plant

I think that's a dorm

After a delicious dinner that evening, we checked out the Penn's Landing, Front Street, and South Street area on foot.  We saw fireworks being shot off on the Jersey side of Penn's Landing!  We also saw several historic landmarks like Christ Church.  We had a great tour guide -- John's mom, Kathy.  She was raised in Philly so she knew the area well and pointed out the great restaurants, etc. 

On Sunday morning we went to Mass with John's aunt, had "authentic" philly cheesesteaks from her favorite diner, and headed off to hit some of the touristy sites: Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, a portrait museum in the old Second US Bank, and the Museum of Modern Art.  We even ran into a historical marker for the American Pharmacists Association.  After a whirlwind tour -- and LOTS of walking -- we were back on a plane to Nashville! 

Big stuff happened here

I'm told these are the "Rocky steps"

I always win in Wii boxing

Awkward tourist picture - take it fast!