For Now

I have been remiss on my blogging efforts - apologies to all. Our Internet reception is patchy up here since we don't have our antenna hooked up yet.

Things are gradually falling into place. We haven't gotten everything figured out yet, and we're still thinking about piracy in Tahiti, but grad school at BYU is looking more and more likely. Penn State has fallen out of the race, but SUNY ESF in Syracuse is back on the radar. BYU still has the clear lead with likely funding sources and two cooperative (though temporarily elusive) professors. Keep on praying for us!

As for the here and now, Aaron is working with his dad's business, North East Well Water. They basically take ultrasounds of the earth to find aquifers before people drill wells so they don't have to (literally) throw thousands of dollars down a dry hole. So if you know of anyone that needs a well east of the Mississippi, drop us a line. Aaron's just working on a per-job basis, so it's a little unpredictable. However, we have been working a little bit behind the scenes to get a little more marketing out on the Internet and things. I'm hoping to get some search engine optimization juju going on soon.

Aaron is also helping Eddie and Dad rebuild the sap house in anticipation of making maple syrup this year. Things are looking promising there. I am looking forward to a lot of pancakes in March...

As for me and myself, I have been attempting to keep Noah out of trouble, which seems to get harder as he gets older. He understands more, but his little hands want to explore more too. He gets into ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING! He absolutely loves it here, from the cats on the front porch to his cousins to the snow, he's in hog heaven. He knows the word "hot" very well from our wood stove; thankfully he learned it without having to burn himself. He has also learned "deer" (go figure) and "teeth" and "turtle." I also got him to say "cheese" today. He knows "Jesus" really well too, which melts my heart.

As of Friday, I'll be a working woman again. I'm going to be an office assistant at a search engine optimization company in Schenectady. I'm not thrilled about the job title, but I am thrilled about the prospect of learning that industry. I think it will do great things for my writing and for North East Well Water also. I'm also writing online articles on liposuction, which you can view here. Not my passion in life, but it's a start.

That about sums it up for us, for now. More interesting stories and pictures once we get reliable Internet service for our desktop.

The Gods are Angry

I'm not sure how, but it seems that I have angered the technology gods. In the last 6 months, my computer charger, 2 digital cameras, computer AC port, DVD player, truck, and Aaron's telemetry unit have all died or been severely injured. Even Aaron's cell phone and GPS unit had a brush with death in a creek up Nephi Canyon. I think I might have to sacrifice some old cell phone chargers on an alter or something to get my electronic life back, since those are the only things that haven't died yet.

So given the dismemberment of my computer charger and the comatose state of my digital cameras, my blogging capabilities are greatly impaired. However, as books without pictures have known to be entertaining, perhaps it's possible that people will still read my blog, even if I don't have cute pictures of my munchkin to put up.

Life in P-town is crazy as usual. Aaron is still chasing turkeys, and seems to be chasing a bear as well. He ran into one three times on Tuesday after trying to track a mortality signal. We think the bear ate the turkey—radio collar and all. Needless to say, Aaron is no longer tracking that particular radio signal, and his wife now insists that he carry his gun with him at all times.

Noah is growing like a weed—a very heavy weed. He's getting taller and now that he's learned to crawl, he's shedding a good deal of baby fat in exchange for muscle, making him very difficult to carry. I know I'll eventually take back any wish I had for him to walk, but it sure would be nice not to carry him. He can pull himself up on the furniture now, though he hasn't figured out how to get down yet (aside from crying until somebody picks him up). He walks really well while holding onto your fingers. I think we're probably only a month away from full-fledged walking.

As for me and my bad self, I am in the process of quitting my job. Yes, it is actually quite a process; though I suppose it's a compliment that my boss was dragging his feet in hiring a replacement for me. It looks like I'll be working until the end of June to tie up loose ends and train the new editor. In the meantime, I'm looking for freelance writing and editing work and any job that will let me work from home, bring Noah, or work early in the morning or late at night. So if anyone has any job leads, please send them my way.