3 digit temps

Yup, you heard me right. We are having a string of 3 digit temps here in Austin. Welcome to the Texas summer...

So up until Tuesday, we had 16 days in a row of 3 digit temps. Then it finally rained on Tuesday--which cooled it off nicely. When I got out of work at 2 on Tuesday it was only 76 degrees. I couldn't believe it. By 5 though, it was up in the 90's again. (oddly, here the hottest part of the day is 5pm...weird huh?)

Wednesday it rained in the morning for like an hour, or hour and a half--which kept the day fairly cool too. By later in the afternoon the humidity had risen, but the morning was beautiful! So...now we're back to 3 digit temps again, as you can see below. For all of you who thought I was crazy for moving here because I'd hate the heat--it's true that I do. But this is what I've learned about the heat. Being here in the summer, is no different than being in Maine in the winter. It really isn't. In the winter in Maine, you run from warm place to warm place, you learn to hate the cold, and look forward to warmer days when your face won't freeze off the moment you walk outside. Here, it is the exact same outlook--just the opposite end of the thermometer. You run from air conditioned place to air conditioned place, and learn to hate the heat and look forward to cooler days. :)

Here are a few things I've learned about living in a hot climate that I had no idea about before.

• Window tinting on your car makes a WORLD of difference. My car cools off in about 45 seconds now that I have my windows tinted, as opposed to 5-10 minutes before I did. (When I lived in Maine, I thought that window tinting was for privacy reasons...shows what I knew...)
• Having a windshield reflector to put in your windshield when the car is parked, also makes a world of difference.
• Having ceiling fans in your house is essential (in addition to air conditioning, obviously)
• Watering the grass is a must, but you can't do it before 7pm--it is totally pointless to do so.
• Roly Poly Bugs are irritating...but harmless. I vacuum ridiculous amounts of these bugs from my kitchen floor every day. I hope it's just a summer thing...

I can't remember exactly what else I have caught you up on, so here are a few other things. Please forgive me if they're repetitive, but I don't think they are.

I am now a Partner at The Austin Stone, which is my church. Partnership can be likened to membership. I have never been a member anywhere before, but I feel so strongly about the mission of this church that I wanted to go on board as a Partner. Now, I'm starting to talk with the Pastor of Worship Ministries to see where I can get plugged in. It's a whole different way of working in such a large church, but I'm getting used to it. I love the services there--Alex described it as a rock concert when he visited. And he's right. If you've been to Passion, it is just like those services. But I love it. The music is amazing, the teaching is so true, and the heart of worship in that place is so apparent. But you do have to like loud music with guitars and drums...which of course I love. :)

I'm also a few weeks away from being re-certified as a Foster parent. Arrow ministries has been offering training at my church because there are such a large number of people at The Stone interested in Foster and Adoption. So, at this point, my plan is to offer respite care for other Foster parents, but I would love to foster again in the future, and I plan to. But anyway--for now I'll just do respite, and be available to babysit for others who have foster kids.

I'm heading to Dallas in 2 weeks for Mary Kay seminar. For once I don't have to fly!! It's very exciting to be able to drive instead of having to book a flight. :)

Speaking of booking flights, I've booked my flight home for August. I'll be on Matinicus the ENTIRE second week of the family time out there--and then I'll be in Freeport the ENTIRE next week following to spend time at home with my family and see my friends. (with the exception of 2 days that our family will be driving Matt down to Gettysburg) But anyway, I'm excited to come home and see everyone--and I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to bring lots of warm clothes (especially if the weather you all have been having up there continues...) I'm going to freeze to death!!! :)

As for Austin, I really love it here a lot. This is definitely where I'm supposed to be. I love everything about living here except for the traffic and the way people drive. But otherwise, the culture is great, I'm making some great friends, I love my church, I love working at The Little Gym, and Mary Kay is doing alright at the moment--and picking up more and more all the time. And of course Tres is a huge bonus. I'll blog more about him in the coming weeks--but it is all good stuff going on with him. I am totally head over heels for him, he's the most amazing man I've ever met. How often do you hear me say that so clearly??

So anyway, that's the latest~must run. Tres is arriving any moment to spend the afternoon and evening together :)