I am writing this blog on Microsoft Word in hopes that I can at least copy and paste it to blogger. I thought we were having a problem with our computer (which we still might since we haven’t had antivirus protection for like 5 years…I know, not smart). But for some reason our service, or our old house, makes it nearly impossible to be on the internet for more than 3 minutes without it freezing up and losing a connection. Have you ever had to copy every email that you write just in case it doesn’t go through so you don’t have to write it again? It’s not very fun. So maybe I’ll post this…maybe I won’t.

Our landlord called us today to tell us that our neighbor complained because we were parking in their “spot” that she has parked in for years. We always just parked wherever without thinking anything of it, but apparently this really upset her. Why can’t people just speak for themselves instead of passing it off to someone else? Its no big deal for us to walk an extra 5 feet, so we parked one space over…problem solved. This is the same neighbor that uses our washer and dryer without asking (which is fine, we’re happy to share) but its frustrating when we want to do laundry and can’t because a family of 5 is using it. So what did we do? I went outside and picked up every single toy they had strewn on the ground, swept their porch and cleaned their mats, fixed their bench and picked up their shoes that were on the ground. Funny thing is, it felt pretty good, and I was no longer mad about the whole thing afterwards.

I’m learning something about the east coast, we still think people are really nice…in person…but when it comes to driving they are the meanest ever. Everyone loves to blare their horns and yell which I’m sure helps, but it’s a bit of a double standard I think. Have you ever seen someone get REALLY mad at you while driving, but then you recognize them? Funny how we can put on a show when we think no one is watching. I’m learning that the older I get, the more pet peeves I get, and that bugs me a little. I’m making a personal rule that I will only be allowed 3 good pet peeves, its not worth it to dwell on things you can’t change.

So we did 3 monumental things this past week.

1) We paid off our car. I’m a little worried about this one because the last time we paid off a car it broke down and then someone broke all the windows out, stole the radio, and ripped off the dash. Then we had to salvage it for $150.

2) We started dance lessons. We are taking a course every Friday night with some other couples, this week we learned the Waltz, the Rumba, and a couple others. It was funny because I was talking to an older lady who was sitting by herself and asked what class she was taking, she said, “I’m learning the Mamba, but I’m just here for the dance party afterwards”

3) We bought plane tickets to Europe. In April we are going to Barcelona and other towns in Spain, then to London. Spain has been #2 behind Italy on our places-we-want-to-go list, so we are totally excited.

That’s been our lives the past couple of weeks. We are trying to get back into shape, and we’re having lots of fun with our new friends here. Hasta next time!

Here's our little tour of the inside of our house now that we have our furniture. I actually like watching Joni and Dilly more than the furniture...there's one part where Dilly is lying on one of the couches pretending to sleep, and then like a ninja she appears on the other side of the room on the other couch. Joni has also been having more fun on the camera, her friend was nice enough to play the "model" with her kid...enjoy.

Downtown Hartford...Joni saw a silk flower blown away from a little memorial. We found some cool places for pictures...she just needs some victims now...not it.

Super Bowl Party II

So last year's Super Bowl party was such a success we decided to do it again. We have been amazed at how nice people are here, so many people have gone out of their way to befriend us, I can't think of another place where you can move somewhere and within three weeks have a party. We have found some friends we seem to hit it off with really well, and we just absolutely love everything about Connecticut so far. Our landlord even brought us an edible arrangements boquet to welcome us here (but I hear not ALL landlords are so nice). Dilly likes it too, she was loving all the attention during the game. I couldn't help but laugh at this picture. All the girls formed a circle and they were so close to each other while all the guys were leaning back and watching the game. We had a potluck of sorts, and I guess being full makes girls chatty and guys lazy.

Playing a little Wii at halftime.................................

...The game got really good in the 4th quarter so everyone finally started watching

There was a 3D movie preview and someone was smart enough to bring 3D glasses

We had a great time and I'm thinking this could be a fun tradition. Work is going well, I have been a bit overwhelmed but I am really enjoying staying busy. Joni hasn't found work yet, but I'm loving coming home to a hot meal and two girls excited to see me. We finally got our new furniture today, I'll have to post a video of the inside next time. Have a great week! Love and miss you all!

P & J