Updates!

Well, a lot has happened since my last post.

1. I accepted a job at St. Bernard's in Jonesboro. I start work August 22, which is the same day Ryan starts classes. The hours are Mon-Fri, 7am-4pm, no weekends, no holidays :)...'nuff said.

2. We made an offer on a house..and then another...and then another...The 3rd time was a charm, though! We are finally under contract! It's a house that is still under construction, so I won't have pictures for a while. The date of closing (and the date it will be finished) will be August 12th.

3. August 12 will also be my last day at work here in Mtn. Home.

4. I discovered Andy's Frozen Custard in Jonesboro...I can't decide if I like it better than Shake's or not. I may have to try them both again to decide.

5. I'm running more each week. Training has officially started for this fall. Ryan and I are excited to be moving to the flat lands of Northeast Arkansas. It's going to make marathon training a little more enjoyable. We will be able to walk out the front door and run a 5 mile loop near our house without running into a single hill.

6. I've gotten my first mosquito bites from the giant Jonesboro mosquitoes. This is a downfall of moving to the flatlands of Northeast Arkansas...lots of standing water.

7. I was chased by a giant rodent for the first time in my life. On my 5th of 7 miles today, I saw a fuzzy creature on the side of the trail. Not sure of what it was and whether it was dead or alive, I ran a wide circle around it. I figured if it was alive, it would run away. But I was wrong. It turned and saw me and ran toward me! When I ran away, it lurched toward me twice, and when it realized I wasn't going to stick around to put up a fight, it went on its way.

I still have no idea what the heck it was. It looked like a small beaver, but it had a fuzzy tail. It didn't look like a ground hog or any other common local creature. I'm not sure what type of rodent would be out in the 90+ degree heat in middle of the day unless it was sick though, so I'm glad it didn't get hold of me!

8. Hmm. I guess that covers most of the new developments over the past couple weeks. I'm sure I'll have more as moving day gets closer!