The 313

I am really amazed and nervous about how quickly time flies away. Our first wedding anniversary was this past Sunday already (I LOVE YOU, DARRY!!). Maybe time flies because things are going so swell -- the first year of marriage was not as hard as I had expected it to be. We got into tiny little tiffs and misunderstandings about dumb things, but the time spent biking in the woods, trying not to sound suspicious crossing the border just to get alcohol at the Windsor duty-free store, playing N64 in the basement, growing and killing plants in our yard, and all of our other adventures was way greater. 

What also really blows my mind is that right around now must be my one year anniversary of moving up to what a Floridian considers "the Great American North." (Yes, Michigan is typically categorized as the Midwest, but we seriously touch Canada. That does not make much sense to me.) Not only did I relocate to a much colder place with a higher percentage of wild bunnies running amok, but to a metro area that most people were pretty shocked to hear. "Detroit? You know that people are leaving there, right? And you're leaving Orlando for that? Good luck to ya." The decision to move up here was out of practicality more than a driving desire to defy all conventional expectation, but living near the Motor City became a lot more than that.

I had some fairly serious reservations about Detroit prior to being two miles away from it. Mind you, we do not live in the city, and anyone who says that they're "from Detroit" but do not live there are kind of being cheap to you. It's not really the same, so I can't say that I know from experience what it's like to live in the city. Darin sure can. In fact, his experiences had me a little traumatized to the point that we had to settle on somewhere else to start out. No little twenty-three year old girl enjoys her fiancé's car getting completely destroyed by semi-automatic gunfire because his neighbors had an argument with someone else, where a bullet hole went straight through the driver's side window. I agreed to be the one to move away from my family and home as long as my setting was a little less dangerous. And that's what we did, and I am happy with our home in what I guess is the "suburbs," although I've also gotten looks of surprise about Lincoln Park. I guess there are shadier parts of it? Not really sure.

We do things here and there in the city. We get saganaki in Greektown. We watch the Tigers play at Comerica. We shop for flowers and food at Eastern Market. We look at the cars at the Renaissance Center and then take the elevator to the top. We have a pretty darn good time.

We see beautiful things. 

(If you have ever watched the Superbowl, it is pretty clear that I did not make this video.)

Detroit is a city that most of America can't understand. Why would people stand behind a place that is essentially zombie land? Why don't they just let it fall to rot and let the crime lords take each other out? What good is it anymore? People who think that Detroit is a toilet and that its people are subhuman can stay home, keep shopping at their strip malls, and reading their Oprah book club books. Those people don't like culture, grit, history, flavor, diversity, resurrection. 

"Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus -- We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes."

All eyes are on this place now that the emergency manager declared Chapter 9 Bankruptcy. It's a public spectacle to see the biggest American city let the court help in restructuring the massive debt, caused by the worst of government cronyism and con artists elected to office. This move sealed the deal for a lot of people's opinions, that they'll keep themselves firmly planted where they are and pick somewhere else to go on vacation (as if Detroit was ever on their mind). It may not look good, but it's a chance to make a comeback.

Darin and I are not planning on leaving anytime soon. We in fact hope to move into the actual city someday. (Fingers crossed, maybe the BK will open up some nice real estate! Haha.) Does it make any sense? Not really, if you haven't set foot into the city, and have no idea that there are hundreds of incredibly committed individuals to making the city a better place and trying to change it into something unexpected. It seems like a dumb place to settle down and one day raise a family. 

It might be nice for our kids to say where they were born, and people already know where they come from.

Florida is great and will always be my stomping grounds, but I am enjoying the four seasons, the sports, the music, the art, the food, and the life. Orlando had no shortage of fun around every corner, but Detroit is an old soul, one that whispers in a way that many people can't hear it, or refuse to hear it. We want to hear and give back.

All of my thoughts might sound silly since my experiences are really from a point of observation, still living in another chunk of Wayne County. I do not have the feelings and thoughts that someone would who was born here, and died here after a hundred years. But I have some. Detroit, you have one more voluntary visitor and promoter -- I plan on backing you up in my heart even when the world says to tear you down.

Godspeed to the future, Motor City.

Love, Lara

P.S. I realize that writing has fallen by the wayside, which is a shame. We will get caught up someday. I especially owe my awesome, BFF spouse a tribute considering that I just waxed eloquent about the most dangerous city in America, hahaha. Much love!

The Word of 2013: Intentionality

How embarassing. I have not written a thing in quite some time. I suppose most of our days are pretty ordinary and don't seem worth writing about afterward, but it is pretty pathetic since last I blogged! It's not that I anticipated becoming an international web sensation or anything, but man -- I at least want to pretend we are adventurous and exciting people up here in Michigan.

Alas, though, most of all people's days are spent doing very ordinary things. I spend the majority of my days driving to, working at, and driving home from the law firm. Darin's are spent at the YMCA. Days crawl by but weeks fly; I can't believe it is MARCH already.

It has been difficult at times to feel purposeful post-college. Those were such carefree times that I had no problem spending a day at a new place with friends, taking on a mission, volunteering for weeks in a faraway place, or having long coffee talks and really bonding with people. Those were generally very, very rich days in my life. Once you cross that stage and turn your tassel, though, you likely have to wave some of that fun good-bye. I am very happy for people who have found really energizing jobs already, but a lot of us have to accept what comes our way and get a paycheck, even if it is for sitting in a cubicle all day. (Disclaimer: the people I work with are super funny and I am very fond of them, so that helps out a lot.) Ruts have the chance to begin forming in the ground, the same old path every weekday and a lot of resting and lack of imagination on the weekend.

We all need to take a step back and inject intentionality into our lives when they get this way!

We need challenges and to spend more of our time doing and less of it just existing. One of my hugest struggles, truthfully, is sloth -- I enjoy lounging around in my Star Wars pajama pants and go on Pinterest for hours after I get home from work. But I want to spend more of that time exercising, trying out a new exotic recipe, cleaning my house so that it's more pleasant to be in, reading the bible, having a meaningful chat with Darin, or any other of a myriad of ideas.

I want to start finding out what is around us and what we can do out in the great city and towns all around us on our Saturdays, not just sleep in super late and watch TV. It'd be great to start visiting family members or calling up ones that are far away when there seems to be nothing to do. I can take up a new hobby, read new books, and see new sights. We can purposefully set aside money to really go farther away and go on a real adventure, or say yes to an invitation even though we are feeling lazy and want to stay home and at least give new experiences a shot.

I want to spend more time planning what I eat so that it's more healthy and more delicious, and is more valuable to me. I want to spend more time moving and being active and appreciating the health I am lucky to have. I want to be more focused on Christ and seek out more opportunities to make His name great and lay myself down for others so they can see Him better.

I want my life to be completely full, every hour chosen and used intentionally.

My hope is that anyone else who is struggling with feeling like they are always stuck in the same feelings, places, and situations is encouraged as well to make some changes and experience more life because of it.

Love y'all, and hopefully I will have more things to share as our lives move towards fuller and fuller enjoyment of God and His world!

Love, Lara

P.S. Despite many parts of our routine lives being boring as all-get-out, we did snap some moments along the way to kind of give anyone an idea of what we've been up to!

Christmas Eve, enjoying some light snowfall. This was back when I found snow charming, before the real storms hit and ruined my commute too many times. We'll be on good terms again next winter.

Our Christmas party set-up. I was so rustic and Pinterest-ing that I loved myself a little too much. 

Later on, we took a little day trip to Belle Isle and saw the oldest aquarium in the United States!

Maybe I am spoiled having grown up in the land of Sea World, but since it took 15 minutes to look at the whole aquarium, I was a wee bit underwhelmed.

The conservatory was actually way cooler. Maybe I just liked how warm and humid it was inside, or that there were orange trees, or many other things that reminded me of Florida, but it was also just cool anyways.

A view of Detroit from a snowy Belle Isle.

We went to a gorgeous and special wedding in Detroit, and the reception was at the Majestic Theatre and was so lovely. Detroit's former opulence at its finest.

For our Valentine's Day dessert, we made creme brulee and it was magnificently scrumptious and really easy to make!

The GORGEOUS flowers Darin got for me... that arrived at 10:00 p.m. although they were originally to arrive at my workplace. :) Haha he was so, so happy about it.

Made cevapi with one of my favorite friends, Kristin, and her boyfriend Mark came over and dined on the Bosnian delights with all of us. They turned out pretty good, minus the fact that I missed my favorite other country afterward. :(

Darin got a cardigan, which is my FAVORITE piece of clothing that all men should own, and I had to photograph how much of a stud he is in a sweater.

My attempt at making mozzarella cheese. This literally was all that formed out of a whole gallon of milk. I will figure it out someday!

The joyous occasion when I found a real, self-serve and self-decorate frozen yogurt place in Michigan that was close to our house. Yogurtown in Dearborn. Get you some. Florida had tons of these and I was hurting without them nearby for a less-guilty dessert option. (Or any option, since Dairy Queen was closed all winter until this weekend!!! Grrrr!)

Fall/Winter Recap

Hi world! I have been incredibly lax about writing anything lately; there has been a lot going on in the sense of just plain busyness, but not a lot going on in the sense of "omg big news I must share and elaborate upon." It's been about a month and a half? Well, the biggest events in that time period have been having family & friends visit at long last from the southern peninsula I call my first home! (I get in trouble with Darin for calling Florida "home" because Michigan is home now, right?!?)

One of my best friends ever, Heather, came to visit at the beginning of November and we were all over the place. She accompanied me on my first visit to Eastern Market and we bought plenty of goodies, and then took a nice little trek around downtown to see the riverfront, and the big ol' Christmas tree at Campus Martius! CHRISTMAS!!!

I feel a little dorky because I go to these places plenty of times and still want to take all the pictures ever. Whatevs, I am just trying to give Detroit some of the appreciation it sorely lacks.

We ate at some of my favorite dining locations (Motor City Brewing Works has jammin' pizza and, even though I have family connections to it, I still think the food at Santorini Estiatorio is yummy yums.) I wish all my weekends were this packed full of my favorite stuff.

My parents came for the week of Thanksgiving and we also did a bunch of Detroit touring and dining and good times! And also fixed some stuff in our house... gotta love a dad who is a handyman! :) It was a good time of finally seeing my own family and also spending time with my in-law family, who were all together for a delicious and cozy Thanksgiving at my S-I-L Stephanie's lovely new house. And the Lions lost by yet another few bad calls and lame mistakes. What is life.

(Insert imaginary pictures I took while they were here... worst child in the world.)

I did, however, run my first real race and my first 10K on Thanksgiving morning at the Detroit Turkey Trot! What a great time, anyone who can should do it. I got a late start out of the house so I missed out on meeting up with people from work beforehand but I totally surprised myself by how well I did running, considering that I didn't train whatsoever and hadn't run in probs over a month? (Geesh I am terrible) I ran the whole thing without stopping. The views were pretty great all over downtown Detroit, although it was getting rough towards Rosa Parks Blvd because there's less to look at and it was getting a little exhausting. I also for some reason thought a 10K was like, four miles. Not over six. So I was confused at how it wasn't ending after that mile marker, haha. But I did it! I had to use a port-o-potty and blew my nose a lot into my sleeves because it was cold and breezy but I did it!

And the one picture I took whilst with my parents was... the giant hamburger suspended from the ceiling at Mallie's, a Man vs. Food filming location that turns out to be only about 10 minutes from our house. Instead of a huge burger, I got... a salad!!

Since then, the holiday season has started to get pretty busy. Lots of parties and events going on. And I am going to have to talk Darin into returning to Greenfield Village in Dearborn to commemorate the one year anniversary of getting engaged there. It'll be a lot less of him being weird and me ruining his plans than last time, so it sounds like a pretty good idea to me.

Although there aren't tons of good stories to tell, I can barrage everyone with completely whatever pictures that represent our life as Michiganders in pre-winter times...

The tiny little bit of snow that has showed up so far, about a week ago. Actually, even though winter up here terrifies me as a little Sunshine State baby, I am pretty jazzed for snow to start really falling soon!

My first visit to the Renaissance Center and GM Headquarters was on Friday night with some friends from Detroit Cru after a night of learning all about what it would be like to intern as full-time college missionaries (aka the dreamiest job ever). Carzzzzz

This was one of those views where you think, "I HAVE TO PHOTOGRAPH THIS AMAZING MOMENT LOOK WHAT I CAN SEE RIGHT NOW" and then your phone turns it into a murky mess. Anyways, it just encourages you to go to the top of the Ren Cen yourself to see a sweet view of Detroit/Canada.

Well, as it is Sunday, I need to continue down my list of chores that will make the rest of the week more bearable. Glad to catch myself up! Maybe I will please start doing a better job of chronicling important things in life.

Bonus pitchas!

Darin, showing off his masterpiece portrait of my eyeroll face. The media: Ritz cracker and canned spray cheese. >:|

My favorite cube of our IKEA bookshelf thingie that my awesome mother-in-law didn't want anymore. The Tigers & Judy Genshaft are a good pair.

Love, Lara

Homesteadin' in the D

Happy Sunday, friends! I love this day of the week, even though Darin has to work for most of it (fortunately, not during church!). This morning, though, we woke up really late from our night downtown! It was poppin' in Detroit from the Tigers game and we got home a bit late...

Fall is definitely going on up here already. The high has been in the 50's all weekend, and the trees are looking so good. Darin's birthday is coming up, and I start my new job tomorrow! All in all, I'd say that this season has always been my favorite for good reason!

Lately, we've been doing two things in particular: watching The Walking Dead on Netflix and making fall goodies in the kitchen. Oh em geeeee, that show is out of control. It stresses me out to no end. While we were on a Breaking Bad kick, at least I didn't really care what happened to any characters. But with The Walking Dead, they are seriously doing everything they can to give me heart attacks.

However, the fall harvest is a lot more productive and exciting! One of the many things I am loving about fall in Michigan is the apple-calypse. I hear the crop was lacking this year, but I have been picking up bag after bag of Michigan apples.

I pored over a few slow cooker applesauce recipes and decided on using about three pounds of Gala apples and two tablespoons of brown sugar, as well as half a cup of water, and then letting them cook on low for 8-ish hour, or on high for 4-ish hours. After all that time, they fell apart so much that mashing them wasn't really necessary. Stirring them hard with a wooden spoon, as well as cutting some of the skins apart -- which I left in, for vitamins and ease, and it worked great -- did all the mashing needed. And, voila! I had applesauce! It would so good hot on vanilla ice cream, or cold like we usually eat it. Darin loved it too!

The best part is that it is SO healthy! The tiniest bit of brown sugar enhances the natural sweetness of the apples. I think the slow cooker does a great job of keeping the flavor locked in as the apples break down and dissolve.

Now, today's adventure was a little beyond anything I've attempted before... apple butter! I've had it at Cracker Barrel, I've seen it at TJ Maxx, I love it. It tastes like the essence of what apple should be. And, thanks for the millionth time to Pinterest, I saw the slow cooker version that would push me to making it on my own!

This was my inspiration: Slow Cooker Naked Apple Butter at Oh She Glows. Her recommendation is adding no sugar at all, making the healthiest and most natural apple butter possible. I went out and bought a decent variety of apples, following her advice of going half tart and half sweet. I got pounds and pounds of Red Delicious, Granny Smith, Gala, and Jonathan apples to balance out the flavors, and then chopped them up and overstuffed the slow cooker, and set it to go on high for 4 hours. I used my immersion blender to blend it to death, until it was chunk free and smooth as velvet. Even at that point it tasted amazing.

I added a tablespoon of brown sugar just for my taste, and a squirt of lemon juice and a good dash of cinnamon. I let it keep going for another hour to thicken up. 

It is the most heavenly thing I've ever cooked in my life. Even compared to my favorite mint chocolate chip cake. Sweet Lord. This is an inexpensive homemade concoction you've got to try! I can't wait to make biscuits and smother them with this stuff!

Today's try was just to see how it turned out, but next time I'm putting my new canning water bath to work! Thanks Amazon gift card! Hope y'all like apples, because these may be my gifts of choice to give from now on... Anyways, happy fall and October, friends! I know my Floridian friends aren't getting much of that yet, but for us here in Michigan, I hope you're having as much fun as I am!

Love, Lara

A snapshot of the beauty in our neighborhood. Love ya, October!

Thrift Is A Virtue

Good morning! I am enjoying one of my last weekdays where I can be at home at 11 a.m. in my cozy clothes doing nothing, since in two weeks I will be in an office at this time! Yay! But in the meantime, I am going to brew myself another cup of coffee and chillax until I have to go wipe some noses and plop bottoms onto chairs (since standing on them is kids' favorite but quickest-regretted pastime).

Being a young newlywed, I know how it goes trying to get the most bang for your puny buck. By puny, I mean lower middle class -- definitely not claiming poverty, since we have been blessed way too much with education, jobs, wedding gift money, etc. However, it's hard to see magazines and TV shows and get ideas for what you want your clothes and house to look like, only to remember that you need to be saving for a new car sans Detroit bullet holes (Darin's gift from old neighbors lol), not buying stuff from Pottery Barn or Sephora. Luckily, I am finding that if you budget right and look around, you would be surprised by the kinds of good deals you can find!

Home Decor

I wanted to decorate our house for fall somewhat, and saw these really cute mercury glass pumpkins on Pinterest (my vice), from Pottery Barn. But the small one alone is $24.50! Sheesh! However, on my once-in-a-while trip to Michael's craft store, I found a super thrifty solution. They had styrofoam pumpkins painted silver already, no DIY needed. And the day I was in, they happened to be 40% off that brand! What what! I paid $8 for three pumpkins for our coffee table. If we wrap them nicely, they will last a while, even if a way cheaper material than the PB version. Check out craft stores, they have some house decor that isn't too cheesy and crafty looking.

Beauty

I have been loving the idea of darker lip color for a while now, and haven't really bought any colors in that family before. Darin prefers more natural peaches and pinks, and I usually like focusing on my eyes more in my makeup routine, so lips that are too colorful would be kind of overkill. But I wanted to try something new! I was at the store five below and saw a bunch of Wet n Wild brand makeup for super cheap. Perfect for trying something out before plunking down even $7 for a Revlon or other nicer brand. As it turns out, I like their lipstick a lot more than I thought, and I'll stick with this one until it runs out!

Haha no other makeup on today! But it's such a pretty color. It's called Sugar Plum Fairy and it's a matte shade, in case anyone was wondering. (Put on a layer of lipstick, blot it, dust some powder over it, and then smudge on a little more lipstick to make it last!)

Fashion

Darin has made fun of my glasses for a while now. Actually, it was on Valentine's Day when he told me over Skype that he thinks they're ugly. Great timing, right? Obviously it didn't mess up our relationship since we are married, but I still have those glasses, since I think they are fine. However, I noticed a friend on Facebook mention that with Coastal.com you get your first pair of glasses free, and that hers actually came in the mail and that it was not a scam. Not a bad deal at all! I investigated myself, and they really are free! I paid about $20 for shipping and handling since I ordered the cheapest lenses, which is not bad for a $100 pair of Derek Cardigan wayfarer-style glasses.

Aren't they so cute? The style name is "Black Rootbeer" in case you want to see for yourself. I can't wait till they arrive! The nice thing is that they have a 366 day return guarantee with free return shipping, so if your prescription somehow doesn't come out quite right or the fit is off, send 'em back! Woohoo! Thanks, Facebook, for doing something for me rather than waste my life.

In short, don't give up on cute stuff on a budget! You'll find great deals in the most interesting of places! Now, to find a loophole to score a cheap Michael Kors bag... nah, that'll have to wait a few years.

Love, Lara

Workin' Woman

Alright, people, big news, and I don't have the patience to write good build-up... I GOT A FULL-TIME JOB! A grown-up job! 40 hours a week! Dress pants! I am sooooo excited! I did about fifty cartwheels around my house!

God's providence is so above and beyond would I could've imagined. As I said previously, I turned down pursuing a job with Quicken Loans. The hours were too unforgiving -- minimum 60 a week -- and there were licensing exams and all kinds of crazy things that made it seem like it would put too much of a stress on more important areas of my life. I wanted to have time to spend with Darin, getting plugged into a church, etc. Yet after I said no, I got really nervous about ever finding a job. Darin and I both wondered if that was a mistake to turn down my one lead. On Wednesday, though, out of nowhere, things changed!

Darin's awesome cousin Melissa, who has a super family (and the cutest kiddos ever), asked a bunch of people she knew if anyone was looking for a job, because there was an entry-level opening at her legal firm. Whaaaaaaaaat. Darin pounced on that for me while I was at the daycare and had me send my resume, and before I knew it on Monday I was driving up for an interview! And no one else had followed through on their search for someone to fill this position, and right away I knew I was on the team!

I couldn't be happier. I can learn the things needed for this job, it pays well, and it's full-time at last. It is also a big blessing that my supervisor will be my cousin-in-law, of course. :) I am so jazzed! It is the most massive answer to prayer, that I have the chance to make money and gain experience with a great firm and still have time to spend on the important things in life.

Yesterday when Darin and I started our bible-in-a-year reading plan, something jumped out to us that seems like the perfect description of what our lives should be. It was this:

"They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do." Psalm 1:3

We noticed it because our street name was in there, so we are literally planted along the riverbank! Haha. But we were reminded that we are grounded and steady, faithful in our place, bearing fruit there continually. The river as the source of our power and nourishment sustains us and gives us success and life. This is where God planted us, and He has great things in store for our family! It may take time to see where He is heading us, but we're asking Him to see more of His kingdom come here, even on our little street or in our little offices.

Anyways, other news with us is pretty ordinary. We finally merged our bank accounts yesterday, so that's one more marriage check off the list! Now if only Secretary of State would SEND ME MY NEW DRIVER'S LICENSE FOR PETE'S SAKE but it's okay. It better come, though.

Those are the little headlines for today! Love and blessings!

Love, Lara

Decisions, Decisions

I have not written in a long time! It's for the best, I needed to wait a while to have some things that are actually interesting to share with anybody. We (Darin & I) have been living rather busy lives as of late with work and school, so I guess the "adult" life has started. COLLEGE STUDENTS: when people say you have tons of free time at school, believe them!!! I felt so "busy" until I had a house to maintain, a job to go to, and food to make that is somewhat healthy, let alone exercise or read. I did not heed these words. Alas, not important.

Actually, I feel tempted to be anxious right now for several reasons. I just turned down a second interview with Quicken Loans in downtown Detroit. This seems slightly like madness, because who would not pursue more of a full-time job in this economy, especially me? I really hated to do it. I was just faced with a hard choice: do I continue to pursue, and take, a job that requires 60 hours a week on the phone and over ten state licensing exams? If I were single or really interested in becoming a banker for life, this would totally make sense. But I foresee a future rather where I would be kept from attending any dinner bible studies, unable to spend time with family and friends if they came to visit me, and losing out on my most quality time with Darin. The stress would exceed the relief of making a good bit of money. After a great deal of praying about how to proceed with my full-time job search, I decided to hand it over to God and keep looking elsewhere.

Anyone in my shoes looking for work knows what I mean. It is really scary to let God take control of worry about whether you'll ever find a normal full-time job, let alone one that actually stirs any interests or passions in you. (I'm leaving that part on the back burner of my thoughts for the most part right now, haha.) He is able to bring something that allows me a teensy bit more freedom and time to enjoy life rather than dread it; rest assured, if you love phone calls, then you may think I'm a nut, but I think those days would pass so slowly! I am in His hands. If I have to resort to eating only oatmeal for the rest of my meals to make ends meet, then that's what I'll do. I won't make Darin do it. Just me.

So, if anyone would please join with me in praying for this job hunt, that would be so wonderful. I believe that God can give better gifts! Pray that I not only stumble upon something God has for me, but that I will continue to be wise, facing challenges at jobs but also seeking the qualities He wants.

Besides that business, we have been wedding hopping like crazy -- it's that time of year, and we contributed to it as well! -- and it has been a blast.

Macedonian wedding line dancing -- congrats Sam & Vanessa! We partied so hard that we overslept any normal church services... :|

My babester and I looking fancy :)

Later we got ice cream, zazzled up at Dairy Queen. It pays to have friends who work there.

Heck, other unorganized photos that represent what has happened lately, because I got to work at 7:30 this morning and am not in a normal state of mind:

I have to say, I concocted the hottest interview outfit of all time for Quicken last Friday. Maybe it's the first thing I prepared for... maybe. I wore a chambray long sleeve shirt with a brown-ish pencil skirt, a white fake J. Crew bubble necklace, and nude pumps. And curled my hair, which took as long as I remember that it always does, and consequently will continue to do only for special occasions.

Oh yeah, and I finally got (most of) my name changes done! This is a souvenir I took from the Social Security Office, because I was not allowed to take pictures of the even better George Takei Star Trek posters they had everywhere. This is the best ad campaign the government has ever thought of. Keep doing what you do, Social Security, except maybe let me tell you in advance how much faster my thing will be over with than the other people and let me leave sooner. Oh, and Secretary of State was a pain in the biscuit as well, as there was some error and I had to go BACK to Social Security to have them prove AGAIN that I did come in already. (Secretary of State is the DMV up here, to my Florida peeps. Weird, right?) Anyways, the Clinton cards are on their way. Hallelujah! :)

AND... drumroll... it's my birthday!!! Yay! I feel weird saying how old on the internet just because someone could figure out my exact birthday and steal my identity, so suffice it to say that it's not old yet. This is Darin's genius birthday card to me. He knows me so well. Nothing could warm my heart quite like a holographic pug that licks my face as I sway the card in the light. He says this is the closest I will get to owning one as a pet. We'll see. Anyways, we are having sushi after he is finished with class at our favorite restaurant in Dearborn, and then I get my presents! This guy put in hours worth of effort so I know they will be spectacular!

Anyways, that's all there is to say for now! Thanks for your prayers for us and for the birthday well wishes! We are still living the good life up in the Mitten!

Love, Lara

P.S. FALL IS COMING SOON. It's already in the 50's at night. Florida Lara is happy, but dreads the coming extra coldness... :| Stay tuned for my winter clothing picks.