Fewer and further between

That's how my blogs seem to be shaping up. I have not had much time to write lately. I will do better in the future. Well, here's the recap on the month of November for Sarah and Zak in Cache Valley:
We sold our Mazda on the first of the month, thinking we would just drive Zak's 1990 Volvo with 230,000 miles. (That is the correct amount of zeroes behind the "23" in case you were curious.) We thought we were being good and getting out of debt, plus the Volvo has heated seats. Pretty killin', as Zak would say, except for the part where the Volvo broke down the same night we sold the Mazda. We got it fixed a few days later, and it ran like a champ -- for four days. At that point, we went shopping for another car.
We are now the owners of a 2000 Toyota Camry. It's a pretty nice car except for its squeaky brakes, which of course did not squeak during any of the test drives we took. Well, it's functioning fine and getting us from point A to point B, and that is really what matters. Luckily, we owe much less on our new car than we did on the Mazda. To sum up: what a huge learning experience! I miss my Mazda, but I think that we are going to be just fine. Also, I think that Zak will be getting his much longed-for scooter come spring, so we can save money on gas once the weather is a little warmer than it is now!
I think the next big point is Thanksgiving, which took place last week as you all know. Carolyn, Jake, and Nicole came up to Logan from Provo for the big day. We had a great meal, played a pretty fun game of soccer (post-meal... what were we thinking?), and enjoyed seeing Harry Potter 4: The Goblet of Fire. I rather liked the movie. We had a good time visiting and eating crackers and cheese. It was really fun to have them here.
We had our first snow of the season over the weekend. It was pretty light and had mostly melted off by Sunday afternoon, but we got a few inches of snow again yesterday. I fear the cycle will just continue for several months now. Sigh. That's Logan!
On Monday night, I finished my Christmas shopping and shipped off all Christmas presents to out-of-state destinations. I also learned that FedEx does not deliver to P.O. Boxes (DUH) because only the US post office has access to those. What can I say? I just didn't think it through.
In any case, Zak and I are happy and healthy, and couldn't ask for more as we continue through the holiday season. Work has been going well lately, and every semester that goes by is one closer to graduation. Zak and I are both very excited for that day to come!
Well, readers and loved ones, hopefully you are all well, too, and are enjoying your holiday season. I love you guys!

Shamefully overdue

It's been a few weeks since I last blogged and I have no excuse. Just lazy, I guess. Things are going great in Logan. Zak is finishing up the fall semester (well, kind of - there are five and a half weeks left) and is doing well in all of his classes. I am still enjoying work. Nothing too exciting to report.
I guess maybe that's why I haven't written - I have nothing exciting to say. I am looking forward to Christmas and almost have all my shopping done. My plan is always to be done by the last day of November, just so I can enjoy the Christmas season without having to shop during the month of December. I think I am well on my way to achieving that goal this year.
It has been quiet for the last week or so. Rhett, Candyce, Burke, Britt, and Kurt have been in Taiwan. They return late Friday night and Zak is excited to have his best friends back. (We have been enjoying hanging out with Spack, however, during the absence of the other best friends.)
I guess that's about all I have for right now. I'll try to have a more exciting life so that I can write more often.
Wait a minute - I forgot all about Halloween! Here's a little bit about our Halloween 2005: Zak and I carved a pumpkin (the first I can remember doing - Mom, maybe you can correct my faulty memory - did we ever carve pumpkins when I was a kid?) on Saturday night. I have secretly named him Arthur and am very proud of how he turned out. (Zak gave him some wicked cool eyebrows.) He is still sitting on our front porch, despite Zak's penchant for smashing pumpkins on Halloween night. Thank goodness. Halloween night was a fun night - we went to Zak's parents' house and then went to a neighbor's to get donuts. Yum! After that, we brought my bookcase back to our house! It is beautiful, and looks fabulous in our front room. (Thank you Larry and Barb!) I am so excited that I have been able to unpack my books and use my lovely bookends (thank you Zaky)!
As we were getting ready for bed Monday night, we remembered that Zak had signed up to close up the church that night, so we drove over to the church building (and because it was Monday, it was already all locked and we just had to check the doors - my clever husband was counting on that). We had a race to see who could check more doors. It was pretty fun. Hopefully that wasn't bad to run and be a little rowdy on church grounds. Well, actually, if they let young women play basketball inside the church, there's no reason we can't run around outside the church. There. My conscience is soothed. It was fun. Whew! Am I ever glad I remembered that story! I do have things to say. What a fun surprise.
You guys take care.